Shaanxi Yang Rou Pao Mo (Lamb and Bread Soup)

Place the lamb pieces in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over high heat, drain, and rinse both the meat and the pot. Return the lamb to the clean pot with 3 litres of cold water, the peppercorns, bruised spring onions, and ginger. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Simmer for a minimum of 4 hours, skimming occasionally, until the broth is rich, slightly opaque from dissolved collagen, and carries a deep savouriness with no raw lamb smell.

While the broth simmers, make the mo. Combine the flour, salt, and lukewarm water in a bowl and bring together into a firm dough. Knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Divide into four equal rounds, each roughly the size of a fist, and cook each on a dry, ungreased heavy skillet over medium heat, turning once, until the surface is pale gold with darker spots and the bread sounds hollow when tapped.

Set one mo before each diner with an empty bowl. Each diner tears their own bread entirely by hand — no cutting — into pieces no larger than a pea for the classic texture, or walnut-sized for the chewier local preference. The irregular, rough surfaces are essential: machine-cut pieces absorb broth uniformly and without the desirable unevenness. Allow 10–15 minutes; the bread-tearing is not to be hurried. When the bread fills the bowl, it is ready to return to the kitchen.

This is where the dish lives or dies. Ladle sufficient hot broth into a clay pot or saucepan to generously submerge the torn bread. Add the drained glass noodles and sliced cooked lamb. Bring to a vigorous simmer and cook, stirring once or twice, until the bread pieces are bloated, fully saturated, and tender but not disintegrated — the noodles should be silky and the broth viscous where the bread starch has thickened it. The broth must be rich enough to survive this absorption without turning watery.

Ladle the entire contents — bread, noodles, lamb, and thickened broth — into each warmed serving bowl. Serve immediately with pickled garlic and chilli sauce in small dishes alongside, never stirred into the broth. Each diner adjusts acidity and heat independently at the table.