Chefs Binge · Chinese · Serves 4 bowls

Traditional Wuhan Hot Dry Noodles (Re Gan Mian, 热干面)

Wuhan street noodles: homemade udon tossed with a spiced master stock, quick pickled carrot and a fresh chilli sauce. No soup, just noodles wearing a dressing.

Prep

45 min

Cook

1 hr 30 min

Total

2 hrs 15 min

Serves

4 bowls

Per serving

450 kcal

Ingredients

For Homemade Udon (4 portions)

500 g plain flour

250 g warm water

20 g salt

2 tbsp Cornflour - for dusting

For the Spiced Master Stock

400 ml beef or vegetable stock

3 tbsp Toasted sesame oil

20 g fresh ginger - peeled and sliced

3 garlic cloves - peeled and sliced

1 small shallot - sliced

1 spring onion - sliced

3 tbsp Shaoxing wine

1 tbsp brown sugar

Spices for the Master Stock

1 cinnamon stick

3 bay leaves

10 peppercorns

20 fennel seeds

10 cloves

5 cardamom pods

3 star anise

For Quick Pickled Carrot

100 g carrot - peeled and cut into matchsticks

100 ml red wine vinegar

50 g brown sugar

For Homemade Chilli Sauce

5 chillies - seeds removed

20 g ginger - peeled and diced

8 tbsp chopped tomato

Juice of ½ lime

½ tsp sugar

½ tsp salt

4 tbsp rapeseed oil

Equipment

Large Pot · Large Mixing Bowl · Rolling Pin · Fine Mesh Sieve · Food processor

Method

Mix and Knead Udon Dough for Hot Dry Noodles. Dissolve salt in warm water. Gradually mix into the flour and knead for 8 minutes until a smooth dough forms. Rest the dough for 30 minutes, covered to prevent drying.

Rest the Dough for Perfect Udon Noodles. For final kneading, place the dough in a plastic bag and step on it until flattened. Fold it back into a ball and repeat twice more. Rest for 2 hours or overnight.

Roll and Cut Udon Noodles to Desired Thickness. Roll the dough flat to about 0.6cm thick, fold, and slice into equal noodles.

Boil Udon Noodles for a Silky Finish. Boil the noodles in salted water for 12 minutes (in batches if necessary). Rinse under cold water to set the starch for a silky texture. If they are not going straight into a bowl, toss them in a spoonful of neutral oil while they are still damp, or they set into a single block.

Serve the Udon with Stock and Toppings. To serve, dip cooked noodles in boiling water for 15 seconds, then transfer to a bowl. Add a ladle of the strained master stock and garnish as desired. For the classic Wuhan bowl, spoon the sesame sauce in first and the stock over it.

Toast the Spices for the Master Stock. Heat sesame oil in a pan. Sauté ginger, garlic, and onion for a few minutes. Add the spices and fry until aromatic.

Simmer and Strain the Spiced Master Stock. Pour in Shaoxing wine, stock, and brown sugar. Simmer for 30-60 minutes. Strain before serving.

Store the Master Stock for Future Use. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Submerge Carrots in Vinegar Brine for Quick Pickling. Bring vinegar and sugar to a boil. Remove from heat and add carrot matchsticks. Ensure they are submerged.

Store Pickled Carrots for Later. Let sit for 15 minutes. Store in the fridge for future use.

Blend Fresh Ingredients for the Chilli Sauce. Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

Store the Chilli Sauce for Use in Hot Dry Noodles. Store excess sauce in the fridge for future recipes.

Chef’s notes

Stand on the dough. It is too stiff to knead hard by hand, and body weight through a plastic bag does in a minute what your arms would take ten to do. The two hour rest after it is not optional either: skip it and the dough fights the rolling pin and springs back as you cut.

Oil the noodles if they are going to wait. Boiled, rinsed and tossed in a spoonful of oil they sit overnight in the fridge; without it they set into one block.

Fry the whole spices for under a minute. You want the moment the kitchen changes smell. Past that the cloves and star anise turn bitter and there is no way back.

For the street version, add a sesame sauce. Four tablespoons of Chinese sesame paste or tahini, two of sesame oil, two of light soy and a teaspoon of dark, loosened with the water the noodles boiled in until it pours like double cream. It will stiffen when the first liquid goes in - keep adding and stirring and it comes back. In Wuhan the stock goes over the sesame sauce, not instead of it.

Toss it hard before eating, from the bottom up. The dish is defined by every strand being coated, and it will not do that on its own.

Per serving Calories 450 kcal · Protein 10 g · Carbs 65 g · Fat 12 g · Saturates 2 g · Fibre 5 g · Sugar 7 g · Sodium 1000 mg

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