Lemon basil noodles with stewed tomato and egg

Core two tomatoes, dice them into about half inch chunks and reserve them in a bowl.

Crack two eggs into a separate bowl, season with an eighth teaspoon each of salt and white pepper and whisk thoroughly until foamy with no stray strands of white.

Toss two to three tablespoons of oil into a hot wok and swirl it.

With the flame on maximum add the beaten eggs and let them puff and set, pulling the cooked parts to the side so the rest cooks evenly; once no liquid remains, scramble quickly and take them out.

In the same unwashed wok add another tablespoon of oil and, over a medium low flame, the minced garlic and ginger; fry about thirty seconds until fragrant.

Add the tomato chunks and fry about three minutes, pressing them with a spatula to help them break down.

Swirl in a teaspoon of liaojiu, mix, then a teaspoon of soy sauce the same way.

Add one cup of water, bring to a light boil, cover with a loose lid and let it bubble away.

After about ten minutes, when the liquid has evaporated by about a third, season with a quarter teaspoon each of salt and MSG, add the egg back and mix.

Pound three cloves of garlic with a quarter teaspoon of salt in a mortar until pasty, add six tablespoons of water and scrape it into a bowl.

Season the garlic water with the five spice powder, MSG, soy sauce and dark Chinese vinegar, mix, and finish with the toasted sesame oil.

For fresh noodles, mix 200 g of flour with 2 g of salt.

Drizzle in 90 g of cool water slowly, mix to shaggy bits, smush it into a ball and rest it forty-five minutes.

Knead by putting the dough in a sturdy plastic bag and stepping on it until it forms a sheet, folding it one way then the other into a square and repeating eight times; a Japanese udon technique.

Fold it back into a rectangle and rest another 30 minutes.

Roll the dough into a large rectangle, wrap one side around a rolling pin and roll it around the pin to thin it evenly, dusting between wraps, until it is about two millimetres thick.

Dust again, fold it into layers and slice into about one centimetre wide noodles.

Boil the noodles in a wok of bubbling water; when it returns to a boil add about half a cup of cool water, and once it boils again remove them and dip them into ice water until serving.

To one serving of noodles add about a cup of the stewed tomato and eggs, three tablespoons of garlic water, a small handful of sliced cucumber, a tablespoon of peanuts and a generous handful of basil; mix well and eat at once.

Variation: some people leave the soy sauce and vinegar out of the garlic water and use only salt, MSG and toasted sesame oil, and some pound spearmint into it.