Handmade Chinese wheat noodles with soy and chili dressing

Mix the salt into the bread flour.

Crack the eggs into a container and top up with water until the eggs and water together weigh 5.5 ounces.

Pour the egg and water slowly into the flour, stirring with a chopstick.

Knead for about five minutes. It will be dry and messy; add no water, and keep working until all the flour sticks together.

Cover and rest 30 minutes.

Knead another five to eight minutes, folding the dough over on itself repeatedly to push the air out and strengthen it, until very smooth.

Cut the dough in half and roll each piece into a thin even sheet on a floured rolling mat, one to two millimetres thick.

Dust flour evenly over both sides of the sheet so the noodles do not stick, fold it, and cut with a sharp knife into strips about 1.5 millimetres wide.

Toss the cut noodles with flour if storing; they keep two days in the fridge.

Boil the noodles two to three minutes, watching them so they do not overflow, then taste one and drain off the excess water.

Put the drained noodles in a bowl with the soy sauce, black vinegar, dark soy sauce, minced ginger, minced garlic, spring onion, cilantro and chili flakes.

Heat the vegetable oil and pour it hot over the aromatics on top of the noodles to release their flavour, then mix everything together.