Chinese hand-pulled noodles (la mian) — the foundation of the longevity noodle tradition — require a dough with extremely well-developed gluten (from extended kneading and resting) that can be stretched and folded repeatedly until the noodles are pulled to the desired thickness. The pulling process aligns the gluten network into long, parallel strands that produce the characteristic chew of pulled noodles — different from extruded or rolled noodles.
- **The gluten development:** The dough is kneaded until it is extremely smooth and elastic — 15–20 minutes. The dough must rest a minimum of 1 hour to allow the gluten to relax to maximum extensibility. - **The stretching:** The dough rope is stretched between the hands, then folded and stretched again — doubling the number of strands with each fold. 6 folds = 64 strands; 8 folds = 256 strands; 10 folds = 1,024 strands. - **The alkaline noodle:** Some Chinese noodle traditions add kansui (alkaline water, potassium carbonate + sodium carbonate) to the dough — the alkaline pH produces a firmer, more elastic noodle with a slight yellow colour and a distinctive flavour. Used in Cantonese wonton noodles and Shanghainese noodles.
China: The Cookbook