Production of chinese noodles

Production of chinese noodles

 Introduction

Chinese noodles are generally made from either wheat flour, rice flour, or mung bean starch, with wheat noodles being more commonly produced and consumed in northern China and rice noodles being more typical of southern China. Egg, lye, and cereal may also be added to noodles made from wheat flour in order to give the noodles a different colour or flavor. Arrowroot or tapioca starch are sometimes added to the flour mixture in low quantities to change the texture and tenderness of the noodles' strands.
Type of noodles:

 

Peeling thin strips of dough from a loaf directly into a container of boiling water to make daoxiaomian

lamian

The dough for noodles made from wheat flour is typically made from wheat flour, salt, and water, with the addition of eggs or lye depending on the desired texture and taste of the noodles. Rice- or other starch-based noodles are typically made with only the starch or rice flour and water. After the formation of a pliable dough mass, one of five types of mechanical processing may be applied to produce the noodles:

English	Chinese	Pinyin	Process
Cut	切	qiē	The dough is rolled out into a flat sheet, folded, and then cut into noodles of a desired width.
Extruded	擠壓	jǐyā	The dough is placed into a mechanical press with holes through which the dough is forced to form strands of noodles.
Peeled	削	xiāo	A firm dough is mixed and formed into a long loaf. Strips of dough are then quickly sliced or peeled off the loaf directly into boiling water.
Pulled	拉	lā	The dough is rolled into a long cylinder, which is then repeatedly stretched and folded to produce thinner and thinner strands.
Kneaded	揉	róu	A small ball of dough is lightly rolled on a flat surface until it is several centimeters long and spindle shaped.

Noodle maker in Peng Zhou extruding noodles directly into a pot of boiling water.

While cut and extruded noodles can be dried to create a shelf-stable product to be eaten months after production, most peeled, pulled and kneaded noodles are consumed shortly after they are produced.