Biang Biang Noodles (from scratch)

For the homemade biang biang noodles (if making):

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour and salt. Add the water slowly while stirring. Once all of the water has been added, knead the dough until it comes together and no more dry flour is left in the bowl.

Cover and let the dough rest for about 20 to 30 minutes to relax the gluten.

Prepare a plate or small sheet pan and add a couple tablespoons of oil.

After resting, knead the dough until completely smooth. Roll the dough into a log, then cut the dough into 6 equal pieces.

Keep the dough covered and work with 1 piece of dough at a time. Using a rolling pin, roll each dough into thin oval slabs, about ⅛ inch thick and around 3 inches wide by 8 inches long. Place the rolled out dough in the prepared plate and coat with oil. Make sure to cover all the edges and sides! Repeat with remaining dough.*If the dough is hard to roll out, cover and let them rest for 10 to 15 minutes to relax the gluten.*

After all the doughs are rolled and coated with oil, cover with plastic wrap and set aside for about 2 hours or in the fridge overnight.*Make sure the plastic wrap is touching the dough to prevent oxidation and drying out!*

Assemble the biang biang noodles:

Make the black vinegar base sauce:Prepare the base sauce for each serving of biang biang noodles. Add Chinese black vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar to each bowl. Mix to combine and set aside.*The ingredient quantity listed above is for each single serving of biang biang noodles. If you're making more than one serving, multiply as needed and prepare the number of bowls accordingly.*

Prepare noodle pulling station:When the dough is ready, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Set up the biang biang noodle pulling station. You can either work on a clean non-porous surface or on a silicon pastry mat. Also, get a chopstick or a flat edge that's about the same thickness as well.

Pull the noodles:Once the water come to a boil, start pulling the noodles. Place a slab of the prepared dough horizontally on your work surface. Place the chopstick at the center, parallel to the dough, and press firmly to create an indentation across the whole slab of dough. Remove the chopstick.

Peel the dough off your work surface and gently hold each end of the dough between your palms and thumbs. Pull with one fluid motion until you start to feel resistance from the dough. Once you feel the resistance, bounce the noodles a few times on the work surface while gently pulling until about arm's length.*If there are some sections of the dough that are still thick after pulling, you can gently tug on those specific spots to thin it out a little more.*

At the middle of the dough, where the indentation is, tear a small hole. Then, with one swift motion, tear the dough in half, along the entire indentation. Put the pulled noodle off to the side and repeat with the second slab of dough. *If you couldn't tear the entire dough in one motion, you can go back to tear the sections you missed.*

Cook the noodles:Once both strands of noodles have been pulled, place them into the boiling water, along with the bok choy, and cook for about 45 to 90 seconds, depending on how thick the noodles are. You'll know the noodles are done, if you break off a piece and the center is no longer opaque.*Feel free to adjust the cook time on the bok choy to suit your preferred texture. You can also cook it separately if you prefer.*

Strain the noodles and the baby bok choy and place them into the bowl with the prepared sauce base.

Assemble the biang biang noodles:Arrange the Chinese chili flakes or powder, ground Sichuan peppercorn, garlic, green onion, and a pinch of salt on top of the biang biang noodles. Try your best to keep everything as close together, in the middle area, as possible so that it gets cooked evenly with oil.

In a small saucepan, heat up the 3 tablespoons of oil until it starts to smoke.

Slowly and carefully, pour the hot oil over the peppers, garlic, and green onions. Then, mix the noodles until everything is evenly combined and well coated.

Serve immediately and enjoy!