Homemade Taiwan Style Noodles

Noodles represents are one of main staple in Chinese food, second to rice and in some places especially the northern part of China it is eaten more than rice. Essentially there are 3 categories of noodles ~ wheat ones (mien), rice flour ones (hor fun, koay teow, mee fun thin and thick) and mung bean starch (vermicelli). The wheat ones have many varieties and the difference lies mainly in the ratio of flour, water and/or eggs, and the thickness and treatment. Egg noodles are basically wheat and egg to make noodles like yee mien. There are those with egg/s and water added to flour such as oil noodle (you mien), kolo mee, cantonese lo mien, mee pok, taiwan noodle, ban mien, heng hua pa mee. There are also noodle made with just flour salt and water which is how some xien mien are made. La Mien and knife shaved ones of course are totally different ball games. There are just too many varieties.

Freshly made Taiwan noodle

Many would just buy ready made noodles from stores but unless you know the person making them, you dont know really know what goes into them. Many would used alkaline water to give noodles a certain crunchiness (that is why bought noodles sometimes has a funny smell) and also just plain egg whites with lots of water. Egg whites are bought from people what wants to throw them away like bakers making layer cakes.

To be honest, there is not that many real hand made noodles as some eateries claim to made, most have machines to help. Unless you see the Ta Mien See Fu at work with his long bamboo stick hang onto a ring screwed to the wall and he literally sits and jumps on the bamboo stick to press his dough. Of course La mien (hand pulled noodles) is hand made and so are some ban mien.

My little pasta maker (Pui Nam Cheong in India street charge me RM100 and by the time i got to the end of the street, it only costs RM60 ~ Totally ripped off)

Making your own noodles is really not very difficult but the results is healthy fresh yummy noodles. But you should invest in a little pasta maker which cost like RM60 to RM80. One of our favourites at home is Taiwan style noodle. This type of noodles is very smooth in texture, has a nice bite yet it is on the softer side.

Freshly cooked noodle

300g of flour
(high protein if you like it more hard and chewy; key or plain protein if you like it softer)
2 no of big eggs
80-100gm of water (please adjust according to the flour you use)
1 tsp of salt

1) Mix all ingredients together with hand or mixer and knead (like washing clothes) into dough. Add more flour if too wet.

2) Divide the dough into 2 portions and roll it out into a square, sprinkle some flour on both side and run it through the noodle maker to make sheets (use the sheet making part), starting from largest (No 1 for my noodle maker) to No 3 or No 4. (I usually stop at 3 because I like my noodles thicker). With each no, run it through twice. Sprinkle some flour each time you change no. If sheets get too long, cut into ½ or 1/4 before running through next no. The sheets will look shiny after a few runs.

3) Cut sheets into strips using the noodle maker (the noodle making part) or by hand. Sprinkle each portions of noodles with flour to prevent sticking together. Remember this dough is softer.

4) Fold up the strips nicely waiting to be cooked. Preferrably cook immediately upon making. This noodle is the nicest and freshest this way.

5) Boil a pot of water, add some oil, loosen the noodles and cook til the strands start floating up. Take it out and wash with water to get rid of flour, dunk in back into hot water again for like 2-3 sec.
Can be used for Taiwan beef noodles, Taiwan pork rib noodles, Ma Lak Mien, Hot and Sour Noodles.