Rustic dough-wriggle soup with pickled greens

jia xiang mian ge da 家乡面疙瘩 This quick-fix noodle soup is a homely snack across the Jiangnan region. The pasta pieces are made by using a spoon or chopstick to scrape small pieces of a loose noodle dough directly into a potful of boiling water. In Chinese, the little rags of cooked dough are known as ge da, which translates literally as “swelling or lump”; not so appetizing in English, which is why I have taken the liberty of calling them “dough wriggles” instead. You will find variations on the dough wriggle theme across Jiangnan: near the Yellow Mountain in Anhui I lunched on a bowlful of what they called “flour fish,” named for the slippery, fishlike qualities of the cooked dough wriggles, in a clear broth with pork, bamboo shoot and mushrooms; in Shaoxing, their dialect name refers to the chopsticks used to scrape the dough into scraps. The following recipe was told to me by chef Niu Youqiang at the Liuying Binguan restaurant in Hangzhou. If you happen to have a fish stock to hand, the seasonings will suit it rather beautifully, although I’ve more often used chicken stock or a mixed Chinese stock for this dish. If you like, add some slivers of lean pork to the wok just before you tip in the snow vegetable and bamboo shoot, for extra flavor (no marinade is necessary for the pork). The recipe gives 4 substantial bowlfuls, but will serve 6 with other dishes as part of a Chinese meal.

Great

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Put the flour in a bowl and make a well in the center. Gradually add about 1½ cups (325ml) cold water, drawing in the flour from the edges as you stir with a wooden spoon. You should end up with a very wet dough that won’t hold its shape. Set aside for about 10 minutes.

Step 2

Smack the spring onion whites lightly with the flat side of a Chinese cleaver or a rolling pin to loosen their fibers. Bring a pan of water to the boil. Cut the bamboo shoot, if using, into thin slices and blanch for 1 minute, then drain well.

Step 3

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a seasoned wok over a high flame. Add the ginger and spring onion and stir-fry briefly until they smell wonderful. Add the snow vegetable and bamboo shoot, if using, and stir-fry a little longer until they too are fragrant. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.

Step 4

Fill another large pan with water and bring it to the boil. Drip the remaining oil over your wet slick of dough and smear it over the surface. Smear a little oil over the back and front surfaces of a large metal spoon. Hold the bowl of dough over your pan of boiling water and use the spoon to cut narrow strips from the edges of the dough and drop them into the water. Keep rotating the bowl as you nibble away at the dough. Soon the water will be filled with dough scraps diving wildly around like live eels. Continue until you have used all the dough. When the dough scraps have all floated to the surface, scoop them out with a slotted spoon and drop them into the prepared stock. Bring to the boil, then turn into a soup tureen to serve.