Shaanxi liangpi cold noodle skin

Mix the all-purpose flour and salt in a large bowl, then pour in the water in batches, stirring with chopsticks.

Gather the flour into a rough dough; it does not need to be smooth. Cover and rest 30 minutes.

Knead again to a smoother dough, cover and rest 2 hours so the gluten and protein link up.

Put the dough into a big bowl of clean water and soak briefly, then rub and squeeze it to wash the starch out; the water goes cloudy and elastic pieces of gluten separate.

Wash non-stop about 10 minutes. Any part that looks smoother and firmer than the rest has been missed, so keep rubbing a few minutes more until the gluten is pure and spongy and the water runs clear.

Stretch the gluten onto a plate, leaving a gap for steam to escape, and steam on high heat 25 minutes, then cut into small pieces for topping.

Whisk the starch water to lift the starch off the bottom, then pass it twice through a fine sieve to remove tiny gluten pieces.

Let the starch water settle at least 6 hours, or overnight in the fridge, until the starch has sunk completely.

Without shaking the bowl, pour off as much of the top water as possible; unbleached flour leaves it slightly yellow and cloudy, bleached flour leaves it clear.

Loosen the hard starch layer and adjust with the poured-off water so 400 g of flour gives about 1 to 1.1 kg of starch water in total; too thick can be thinned, too thin needs another 6 hours to settle.

Brush a thin layer of oil over a thin 8 inch round baking pan, stir the starch water and pour in about 90 to 100 grams to cover the bottom.

Float the pan on a big pot of boiling water, waiting for the boil to calm so it does not shake the starch water or scald you. Cover and steam on high 3 minutes.

Big bubbles that deflate fast mean it is done. Float the pan on iced water to cool, brush oil over the surface so the skins do not dry out or stick, then lift an edge and peel the skin off.

Repeat with a second pan while the first steams.

Cut the skins into shreds, oiling or wetting the knife so they do not stick, and separate them.

Blanch the bean sprout in boiling water about 10 seconds.

For the garlic water, smash the grated garlic with the salt, mix until well combined, then add half a cup of water and mix. It keeps in the freezer for months without freezing solid.

Loosen the noodle skins and dress with the garlic water, black vinegar, light soy sauce and red chili oil.

Top with the steamed gluten, cilantro, blanched bean sprout and shredded cucumber, and mix.