Yangchun Noodle Soup

Wash and drain 20 g spring onion, then slice finely. Bring a large pot of water to a full boil. At the same time, boil a separate 800 ml water in a kettle for the soup.

Set out two heatproof noodle bowls. Put 10 g lard, 15 ml light soy sauce and 0.5 g salt in each. Keep the noodles and spring onion aside.

Divide the 800 ml freshly boiled water between the bowls, 400 ml in each. Stir gently until the salt dissolves and the lard melts completely, leaving no solid white pieces. The broth should be clear and light amber, with small natural droplets of fat.

Add 200 g dried thin noodles to the fully boiling noodle water and separate gently straight away. Keep at a steady boil over medium-high heat and cook for about 3–5 minutes, following the packet, until supple with no raw center. Do not cook until mushy. Keep the soup bowls ready nearby.

Lift the noodles into a metal mesh strainer and drain briefly over the cooking pot without rinsing. Move on immediately when excess water has stopped running; keep the noodles hot and moist so they do not clump.

Divide the cooked noodles equally between the two bowls of broth and finish each with 10 g sliced spring onion. Complete one bowl first, then gently tilt the strainer over the second and guide the remaining strands down with long chopsticks. Add that bowl’s spring onion and serve immediately.