Garlic dipping sauce noodles

Smash a head of garlic to remove the peels.

Pound the garlic with half a teaspoon of salt in a mortar for about a minute; do not take it too pasty or the dip turns pungent.

Add half a teaspoon of five-spice powder and two tablespoons of chili powder to the garlic.

Over a medium flame fry half a cup of oil with a quarter of a thinly sliced onion and an inch of smashed ginger about ten minutes, until the onion is good and golden, then shut off the heat and remove the aromatics.

On max flame heat the oil until it just starts to smoke, about 190 centigrade, then pour it over the garlic and chili powder.

Stir quickly, cover with a plate and let it steep about ten minutes.

Mix in a tablespoon and a half of soy sauce, a tablespoon and a half of dark Chinese vinegar, a quarter teaspoon of sugar, an eighth teaspoon of MSG and three tablespoons of water; set aside.

Mix 400 g of AP flour with a teaspoon of salt, then drizzle in 184 g of cool water bit by bit, working it in with a chopstick.

Press together into a ball, knead about a minute and rest covered twenty minutes.

Knead on the work surface ten to fifteen minutes to a smooth even consistency, or use a stand mixer at speed three for ten minutes.

Cover and rest another twenty to thirty minutes.

Split the dough into four even pieces for easier handling.

Shape a piece roughly rectangular, dust the surface with flour, wrap the dough round the rolling pin and rock it across the surface to thin it evenly to about one millimetre.

Slice across the top of the sheet and chop into mian pian sheets about three centimetres wide; or cut the sheet the other way into longer noodles.

Dust the cut noodles thoroughly with flour.

Boil the noodles in a big pot of water about a minute, adding a bit of leafy greens near the end.

Once the noodles float and are done, transfer them to a bowl of water -- hot in the winter, cool in the summer -- and dip them in the sauce to eat.