Wuhan Hot Dry Noodles

Dice 30 g drained pickled radish and cut 30 g drained pickled long beans into 5 mm pieces. Finely slice 10 g spring onion. Crush and mince 1 garlic clove, mix with 30 ml lukewarm potable water and leave until Step 4, retaining the garlic. Use non-spicy, ready-to-eat pickles.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 300 g raw fresh alkaline noodles and separate the strands. Cook until flexible but still very firm in the center, then drain well. Stop before they soften; they finish in Step 5. Follow the package and noodle thickness. Prepare fresh water for Step 5.

While warm, toss the drained noodles with all 10 ml cooking oil on a clean wide tray. Lift and spread gently with chopsticks for about 5–10 minutes until no longer steaming, lightly glossy and separated. Meanwhile, heat the fresh water for Step 5. Keep the strands spread out.

While the noodles cool, stir 4 tbsp sesame paste with 2 tsp sesame oil. Gradually stir in the remaining 30 ml lukewarm potable water. Add 1½ tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tsp black vinegar and all the garlic water and minced garlic from Step 1. Mix until smooth and slowly pourable. If too thick, loosen with warm water a teaspoon at a time.

Put the cooled noodles in a strainer and lower into the fresh boiling water for about 20–30 seconds, separating gently until hot throughout. Check for no raw, hard center and a springy texture. Heat a little longer if needed, then lift and drain thoroughly.

Transfer the hot noodles to one large sharing bowl for two. Add all the sauce from Step 4 and immediately lift and turn from the bottom until evenly coated, with no watery pool. Add all the radish, long beans and spring onion, sprinkle with 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds and serve at once.