is still warm enough, just submerge them in that. The only disadvantage of this option is that the soup in which you serve the noodles will be less clear.
The recipe for Japanese noodle soup (not for ramen) can be found here.
Eating Japanese noodles
Ah, well, with chopsticks. At least, the noodles. You drink the soup straight from the bowl that you picked up with both hands. One thing: whereas other Japanese food is eaten without extra noise, menrui are to be enjoyed with slurping sounds.
In many parts of China wheat instead of rice is the basic food. China is a large country, and rice simply refuses to grow in the climate of the North. Wheat is used in bread, pancakes, and noodles. Many Chinese noodles are made just like Italian ones, only with slightly different ingredients. Chinese rice noodles can be made from rice flour with water, or from cokked and mashed rice and water which is spread out and steamed before cutting.
Chinese wheat noodles
For four to eight persons (depending on how the noodles are served) you’ll need 350 to 400 gram (a little more or less than 3 cups) flour, with 1/2 tsp salt, and 2 eggs stirred with 135 cc (1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp) water and a few drops of Chinese sesame oil. Mixing, kneading and roll out the dough is same as with Italian pasta, but I have repeated it here so you don’t have to toggle the pages.
Make a heap of flour on the worktop, with a hole in the middle (like a vulcano). Pour the eggs and water in the hole, and start to mix. Just add some flour of the ‘mountain’ to the ‘lava’ of the eggs, and stir with your finger. Use one hand to mix the dough, use the other hand to keep the eggs from breaking through and running all over the table. You could use a bowl and a spoon or whisk for the mixing, but this way is much more fun. Check the consistency of your dough (not too moist or dry). Clean the worktop, and wash and dry your hands.
Now knead the dough for at least ten minutes. Use both hands, and not just your fingers, but also the ball of your hand. Fold, knead and twist the dough until you get a supple, slightly elastic ball. You can also throw the dough with force unto the worktop to make the dough even more elastic. Just mind you throw it straight downwards and not at an angle, because, being elastic, the dough will bounce straight off the worktop! I love throwing my dough, it is a great way to get rid of all your tension.
Pack the dough in plastic foil and let it rest for thirty minutes.
To make thin pasta sheets you can use a wooden, thin roller like a broomstick, but I prefer using a pasta machine: 2 stainless steel adjustable rollers. There are models that come with cutting rollers (correct term?) to cut tagliolini and tagliatelle.
Start with the rollers in their widest position. Take a piece of dough the size of an egg, keep the rest of the dough covered in plastic foil or between to plates. Pass the dough through the rollers. Fold in two or three, pass again, without changing the distance between the two rollers. This is still kneading. Then you start adjusting the rollers by one “knot”, and feed the still thick sheet of dough through. This you do only once before adjusting the rollers again and again, until you have a sheet as thin as you want. But mind: the sheet of dough will only get longer when you pass it through the pastamachine, it will never get any wider. So take care that you start with a piece of dough that is as wide as the rollers are.
Cleaning the pasta machine:When you are done rolling out your dough, wipe the pasta machine clean with some paper towels. NEVER use any water whatsoever, not even a damp cloth! The rollers will loose their smoothness and the dough will stick to them..
Dry pasta before cutting it
The pastasheets have to dry for fifteen minutes, spread out on a clean kitchen towel. If you want to cut the sheets at once, the strips will stick together.
Guide the sheet through the cutting roll of the pasta machine, or roll the sheets loosely and cut with a sharp knife. Let the pasta rest for at least five more minutes before cooking.
Drying pasta on a