Old Beijing zha jiang mian

Add the salt to the flour, make a well and add the water bit by bit. Combine and knead by hand about ten minutes, or five minutes in a stand mixer on speed two.

Pack the dough into a ball, cover and rest at least 15 minutes.

Cut the dough in two, pat into rough rectangles and roll from the centre out with a rolling pin.

Dust both sides, roll an edge around the pin and roll the sheet thinner, to about 2 to 3 millimetres.

Dust again, fold the sheet over three or four times and slice into noodles about half a centimetre wide. Loosen them and dust liberally with flour.

Combine the gan huang jiang and the tian mian jiang in a bowl.

Slowly stir in the hot boiled water a bit at a time until incorporated, then set aside.

Slice the pork belly into half centimetre sheets, then slivers, then dice.

Add the oil to a non-stick skillet over medium heat and fry the pork about two minutes, until cooked through and just starting to turn golden. Take it out.

In the same oil, fry the leek and smashed ginger about two minutes to flavour it, then turn off the heat and remove them.

On low heat add the bean paste mixture and stir constantly for about fifteen minutes, until the paste has absorbed most of the oil.

Add the cooked pork and keep stirring another ten minutes, until only a thin layer of rendered fat is left on top.

Season with the sugar, salt and optional MSG, let it dissolve about a minute, then turn off the heat and jar the excess.

Boil the noodles until the water comes back to a boil, about a minute, and drain.

Blanch the Chinese celery and the bean sprouts ten seconds each. Dice the celery and julienne the cucumber and radish.

Add the toppings and a tablespoon or two of the sauce to the noodles and mix thoroughly.