Chinese Shaanxi Liangpi Chilled Noodles

Ingredients

• 10 oz wide flat noodles
• 1 cucumber, julienned
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 1/4 cup neutral oil
• 2 tbsp chili flakes
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• Salt and black pepper

Steps

1. Make the chili oil first: put the chili flakes and sesame seeds in a heatproof bowl. Heat the neutral oil until it just begins to shimmer and wisp, about 250F (120C).
2. Pour the hot oil over the chili flakes in two additions, standing back as it foams. Oil hotter than this scorches the flakes black and bitter in an instant.
3. Make garlic water by stirring the minced garlic with 3 tablespoons of cold water and 1/4 teaspoon salt, and let it sit for 10 minutes. This is the traditional way garlic is carried through a liangpi dressing rather than as a raw paste.
4. Blanch the bean sprouts in boiling water for 30 seconds, then plunge them into iced water and drain thoroughly.
5. Cook the noodles according to the package, then drain and rinse them under cold running water, rubbing with your hands until they are completely cold and no longer slippery.
6. Rinsing off the surface starch is what stops the strands gluing together in a cold noodle dish.
7. Whisk the black vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and garlic water together into a dressing.
8. Toss the cold noodles with the dressing, the cucumber, and the sprouts, then spoon the chili oil over and finish with the scallions. Serve cold.

Allergen note: Contains gluten, soy, and sesame.

Use the listed quantities as a guide, adjust seasoning to taste, and cook proteins to a safe internal temperature.