Noodle · Cold, hand-cut

Liangpi (Cold Skin Noodles)

📷 Closely related photo — Photo via Pexels/Unsplash — free for commercial use

The noodles start as wheat dough washed in water until starch and gluten separate — the gluten becomes a chewy topping, the starchy water becomes the noodle sheet.

A steamed sheet of wheat or rice starch is cut into wide, chewy strips and tossed with cucumber, bean sprouts, chili oil, garlic, and vinegar, topped with wheat gluten cubes.

Why it's made this way: The dish developed as a way to use both parts of wheat, Shaanxi's staple grain, in one dish.