Shaanxi Province — Xi'an area; Han dynasty origin claimed
One of China's most popular summer street foods: glutinous, slightly translucent noodle sheets made by washing starch from wheat dough (the same process that creates seitan), setting the starch into thick sheets by steaming, then cooling and cutting into flat noodles. Dressed with chilli oil, sesame paste, garlic water, vinegar, and cucumbers — the Shaanxi version is the benchmark. The texture is unlike any other noodle: slippery, dense, and chewily elastic.
The dense, chewy, slippery liangpi is the most unusual noodle texture in Chinese food; the assertive chilli-sesame-garlic-vinegar dressing makes it intensely aromatic; a refreshing but rich summer preparation
{"Two products from the washing process: the starch liquid (for noodles) and the gluten (for seitan side dish)","Starch liquid settled 2+ hours until clear water separates from white starch at bottom; drain clear water","Steam the starch mixture in lightly oiled flat trays until set and slightly translucent — 5–8 minutes per tray","Cool completely before cutting into 1cm wide strips"}
{"The seitan (gluten dough) that remains from the washing can be sliced, fried, and added to the bowl alongside the liangpi noodles","Commercial liangpi (in vacuum packs) is widely available in Asian supermarkets — acceptable for testing before making from scratch","Mung bean liangpi (lü dou liangpi) is a variation using mung bean starch — more delicate and greener colour"}
{"Not settling the starch adequately — cloudy starch makes opaque, heavy noodles instead of translucent sheets","Cutting before fully cooled — the sheets are too sticky and fall apart","Insufficient seasoning in the dressing — liangpi needs assertive amounts of chilli oil and garlic"}
Land of Plenty — Fuchsia Dunlop