Basic Chinese style homemade (handmade) Chinese noodles recipe. If you are searching for some idea about how to make yummy Chinese style noodle dishes, check Chinese noodle recipes.
It is really interesting when you make noodles at home. Chinese people especially people from the Northern provinces think this is just a routine for daily life. Homemade noodles usually provide a more chewy taste than store bought ones. If you visits Chinese friends, and they treat you with fresh handmade noodles, then I would love to congratulate you for a real friendship.
The basic steps are easy but there are lots of details for the perfect outcome.
Firstly about the basic ingredients:
For noodles, high gluten flour will be highly recommended for a chewy taste. But if you really do not care about the taste that much, all-purpose flour is quite Ok too.
About how much water;
Usually the dough for noodles should be tougher than steamed buns so for 250g flour, I would use around 120g of water. The ratio is slightly less than 2:1. However this is not a actuate number since different flours have different water-absorbing capacity. Usually high gluten flour has a higher water-absorbing capacity. So the rule is to add the water little by little and make some adjustment if necessary.
The toughness of the dough should be harder than steamed buns. You may feel difficult in kneading the dough at the very beginning. If you are not skilled in dealing with tough dough, reset it for around 10 minutes and then continue kneading until the dough is smooth.
If you use egg liquid to replace water partly or completely, then this will be homemade egg noodles.
Now let’s begin
Add flour, (egg) pinch of salt in a deepblow. Pour in water step by step. Stir the flour with a tool. Stop pouring water when you see there is no dry flour in your blow.
Grasp everything together and begin kneading the dough until your hand is clean, your bowl is clean and the dough has a smooth surface. Then keep kneading for another 10 minutes. Cover with a wet cloth and reset for around 30 minutes. After that, the dough will become slightly softer.
Transfer the dough to a floured operating board, should be large enough in picture 1. Roll it into a thick wrapper firstly as picture 2.
Roll the dough into rectangle or round wrapper with around 0.5 cm in thick, keeping remaining dough covered with flour (picture 3 and 4).
Fold the large dough wrapper around 5cm wide(picture 5) . Each time after folding up, spread the surface with flour. Cut the remaining part off.
Cut the folded dough into thin strips with a sharp and dry knife. (picture 6)
Spread flour on the surface before picking the noodle strips.
Unfold the strips one by one and then shake the extra flour off.
Here we are.
How to cook: cook the noodles in boiling water for around 4 minutes. Each time when the water is boiling in your pot, add around 1/4 cup of cold water, wait boiling again. Repeat the process once.
- 250g high gluten flour (around 1cup+2/3 cup)
- 120g water (around 120ml, can be replaced by egg liquid partly or completely)
- Pinch of salt
- Add flour, pinch of salt in a deep blow. Pour in water slowly. Stir the flour with a tool. Stop pouring water when there is no dry flour in the mixing blow(depending on the flour you are using, the water absorption might be different. )
- Knead the dough until your hand is clean, your bowl is clean and the dough is smooth. Then keep kneading for another 10 minutes.
- Cover with a wet cloth and reset for around 30 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a large floured operating board. Roll it into a thick wrapper firstly.
- Roll the dough into paper-thin rectangle or round wrapper, keeping remaining dough covered with flour.
- Roll the dough into rectangle or round wrapper with around 0.5 cm in thick, keeping remaining dough covered with flour.
- Fold the large dough wrapper around 5cm wide. Each time after folding up, spread the surface with flour. Cut any irregular part if necessary.
- Cut the folded dough into thin strips with a sharp and dry knife.
- Spread flour on the surface before picking the noodle strips.
- Unfold the strips one by one and then shake the extra flour off.
- Cook them directly or dry for around 3 days.
- They can be refrigerated for around 3 days.
Cooked ! It tastes really good!
Wow! This looks beautiful. What a great recipe…I would love to try to make this one day. Pinning.
Thanks Thao. Go ahead and make it at home. It is so funny and comes out great.
THE PICTURES LOOKS GOOD. I WOULD LOVE TO TRY ONCE. BUT I DON’T HAVE IDEA ABOUT THE QUANTITY OF NOODLES AM GONNA PREPARE, SINCE I CANNOT ESTIMATE HOW MUCH NOODLE GONNA FORM FROM THE DOUGH I PREPARE.
Hi Sounav,
Thanks for your kind words and great suggestion. Actually we will get around 380g fresh noodles, which can yield 2-3 servings. Of course, you can make a larger batch once. Happy cooking ahead.
I dont have a scale in my house, How much is that is cups ? Table or teaspoons.
Hi Brena,
I have already updated the recipe giving a rough cup measurement.
they’re looking good! I can’t wait to try this one, it looks so healthy ^^
Thanks Lee. Yes, homemade noodles surely are healthy versions. What’s better is that you can add some vegetable juice in the dough for coloring the noodles.
Would love this in 雪菜肉絲湯麵. Beautiful photography!
Thanks Harvry,
That’s correct. I am using the fresh made noodles in 雪菜肉丝面. And it really tastes super chewy and good. If you get a time, try this too.
Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice! This looks awesome! 😉 I’m gonna try, definitely! Can I suggest also that you try rice noodles?! 😀 I’m really curious about how it’s made… Thanks Elaine for your amazingly deliciously looking good recipes! Thanks to you my expectations in Chinese cuisine have raised a lot 🙂 Xiexie
Hi Margarida,
Thanks for your kind words. For rice noodles, I am not sure which type you are referring because there indeed are lots of rice noodles in different cuisines of China. We have Shan’xi rice noodle and Cantonese rice noodle, Yunnan rice noodle etc. I will definitely love to try new adventure in kitchen. Thanks for your lovely suggestion. I do love feed backs like that.
Sorry but I really don’t know which kind of rice noodle type to recommend because I’m not informed to say that! I only now rice noodles from very recently! But I’ll search for them 🙂
Haha Margarida. I can understand that rice noodle is not an accurate name because there are really so many types. But it does not matter, we can master them one by one in future days.
Hahahahaha! Good choice! I look forward to see them 😀
Beautifully done noodles!!!! I really need to learn how to make noodles from scratch. Thanks for sharing. I want a bowl of soup noodles now! 😉
Lokness,
Homemade noodle is really fun and I hope you can try it one day. Happy cooking ahead.
Wow! This looks so delicious! I could literally eat fresh noodles every single day and it’s one of my most favorite things to make! – I think it’s so therapeutic! I will definitely make this next time I make noodles! Btw, beautiful photography!
You should try this definitely Kathleen, making fresh noodles are so much fun in fact.
This looks good! can I add egg on this recipe to make egg noodles?
Hi Tess,
Of course. You can use egg to replace water partly or completely to make egg noodles.
Hi Elaine!
I’m going to be making these noodles this week. Do you think I can freeze them? I want to make a big batch!
Thanks,
Your ninja pal
Hi Amanda,
You can freeze them. But remember to divide into small batches and spread more flour on the surface to avoid sticking together.
I love your food blog! I am so inspired by how beautifully you cook and want to make these noodles at home. The problem is every time I remember I want to try it…I am starving so I can’t go through the process. One day!
Hi Venora,
Homemade noodles sometimes is time-consuming. But I believe you can find some time in certain day to try it in your kitchen!!
And thanks very much for the sweet words.
Yuuummmmyyyy lovely,
I love fresh prepare knife noodles,thank u ur noodles look yummy…lov it
Since the dough for Chinese noodle is the same as other pasta or noodle recipes, how are they different?
Thank you
Marie
Hi Marie,
Frankly I do not know the exact differences too. Noodles are always made from flour, water, salt and eggs. The only difference might be the ratio of the ingredients.
I love every bit of your methods and will love to practice them on my own.
Im a lover home made foods and i believe your site will make me better.
Thanks.
Thanks May! I believe I am a home made foods lover too, as I am always trying to make various ingredients at home. Let’s cook and share together in the next year. Happy new year.
hi, i tried at home but did not turn good as it was eggless.
Hi Heena,
Egg really is not essential to noodles for soups, but more kneading is needed. If you plan to make pan-fried noodles, you need to add egg liquid to the dough like this one https://chinasichuanfood.com/chinese-egg-noodles-handmade-version/.
Hi,,,thanks for the sharing the information and anything else.that’s is so great.now i cant make handmade noodles.thank you so much.???
You are the most welcome! Vicky. Happy cooking.
I made these today with my children. It was fun and they taste really good. I used bread flour. We put a little soy sauce on top. I am wondering if there is an easier way than unfolding each noodle individually? The kids liked them so much that they wanted quite a lot.
Hi Beth,
Thanks for the feedback. If you do not need to make them neat for a nice picture like me, you can grasp the noodles and swing them slightly.They should be separated quickly.
Hey all
I brought a noodle machine you turn the handle and the pastry comes out as noodles , its the first time I tried to make noodles so i looked online and followed your simple recipe just flour water little salt , first time was alittle sticky as noodles would stick together so I put back in bowl added more flour to make them dryer gave them a little more push pull ,then holy moly they came out perfect and more tasy than the shop ones
thanks so easy peasy
Russell from New Zealand
Thanks Russell for the feedback.
Homemade noodles really taste great. But they are time-consuming. I love the idea to use a noodle machine for time saving. I personally love hand-kneading because I can eat one more bowl after the kneading exercise.
Thank you for this recipe! So amazing how such simple ingredients can come together into something so delicious 🙂 I appreciated how quickly these noodles came together as I’m terrible at planning ahead with these things 😛 I’m trying to avoid packaged goods because of a) minimizing trash and b) additives that I can’t pronounce so this recipe is definitely going into my “pantry staples” category. I kneaded it by hand since my kitchenaid bowl needs more volume of stuff to properly knead with the hook but I rolled it out with the pasta attachments & they came out perfect! Next time I’ll probably double or triple the recipe so my kitchenaid can do the work for me & freeze into portions 🙂 Thanks again!
Thanks Ling for the lovely feedback. It’s amazing how ingredients work together and become yummy dishes together. You can freeze the noodles directly in small portions and cook them directly.
I just visited my grandma and she made these noodles. Her recipe is pretty much exactly the same as this one so I can vouch for the authenticity and deliciousness of the noodles. These are the best noodles I will ever eat and they always take me back to when I was younger. My sister and I would sleep over at Grandma’s and we would be woken up for a warm bowl of handmade noodles and a mantou before going to Chinese school.
I plan to reverse the roles and make these noodles for my grandma next month. I hope it meets her standards.
Thank you for the recipe!
Thanks Shelley for the lovely feedback. When I was a little girl, I always stood near the kitchen store, watching my mom to cook. It just seems magic to me because she can turn common ingredients to yummy dishes. I believe that’s because of love. Your grandma must be a very lovely grammy! Go ahead and I wish your noodles will comfort her too.
Happy cooking!
It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Wish you success, and tell me about the follow-up.
Your link at the top “Chinese noodle recipes” leads to 404 (Page Missing) error. Great recipe on this page though!
Thanks John for pointing that out. I change the tag to topic so the page responds 404. I have updated to the newest link. Happy cooking.
When using fresh noodles in a stir fry do you need to boil them first…or do you add the freshly made noodles directly to the wok? I am thinking that you need to cook them first in boiling water……am i correct?
Thank you for the recipe, wonderful
Yes, you should boil the noodles firstly around 80% cooked and then rinse under cold water. Remember to drain before stir-frying. By the way, I would suggest using egg noodles for chow mein noodles. Adding more egg can make the noodles stronger and chewier.
Happy cooking!
Thank you Elaine and I will take your advice regarding egg noodles….ps the your bokchoi with pork is a family favorite in our house now. Thank you
Nice feedback! Happy cooking!
My son loves noodles…. cant wait to try this great recipe. I do have question though- can we store it for either in freeze or dry n keep it for future use?
I would suggesting freeze the noodles directly. Slightly dust the noodles and then freeze in air-tight bags and boil directly before serving.
What if we do not have eggs???
If you do not want to add eggs, the best solution is to add some sodium carbonate to the dough. So the noodles can be elastic.
This is the best thing in planet. I can’t find any of the best restaurants in India who can make such delicious Sichuan noodles. So I tried it at home and now It’s impossible to eat at any restaurants noodles as compare to these fresh made noodles at home. Such a delicacy, die hard fan of chinese noodles and dumplings. Hope some day you will show us how to make goat meat and fat dumplings.
Try it folks , sichuan chili oil is just amazing with these noodles…
I will appreciate if you can also share how to make best sichuan chili oil.
Keep it up..!!!
Your chili oil recipe is here .
Yeah, thank you so much and I really appreciate that it is the best traditional way to make perfect chilli oil.
Keep up the great work..
Cheers..!!!
Yesterday, i ate some wonderful handmade noodles. And since then I wanted to do my owns.
So I decided to follow your recipe, and it’s really easy to do and so good.
Thank you for this recipe!
Thank you for the wonderful feedback.
hey i did this but i put sesame oil and oyster sauce and chives and it turned out so good!
having this online really helped me so i can make it anytime!
Thanks Nani for your wonderful feedback.
Hi looks great. Are you saying you can replace all the water with egg? So these can be made with just water or just egg? What would be the difference?
More eggs create stronger noodles, very chewy, hard to break. However if you use water only, you need to add some alkaline solution to strong the gluten. The recipe is the best ratio tested by me.
Thank you so much for this recipe. My grandmother used to make these noodles for mother as a child. My mother hasn’t had them until today and I am 40 years old! She was so excited and happy. They tasted great and were easy to make! We will continue to make this recipe from now on!
You are the most welcome, Saundra. Food is a great connection among generations. I can remember lots of food from my grandmother too. Keep trying and you will get even better foods.
Hi,
Am trying the recipe now! Just wondering if the flour should be sifted? I’m doing this batch un-sifted to see how it turns out.
Thanks!
I believe there is no need to sift the flour, Clara.
Hi!
If I may, here is my feedback on the recipe:
I made the noodles 2 days ago, except that I made it with 1 egg and less water. The total volume of water and eggs is more than 120ml. In fact, I had to use about 125ml total. I wonder if that could be due to the drier weather in New York City. Furthermore, I used unbleached bread flour. Maybe that makes a difference to the amount of water required (?)
I found the dough difficult to roll out. It felt really hard and I could barely get it to 0.5cm thick. However, I was also using a rolling pin that isn’t as large as yours, I suspect. Maybe that makes it harder.
The overall taste is great, though the noodles could have been thinner. I will try your egg noodles recipe tomorrow.
Thanks again!
Best,
Clara
Clara,
Using less water is a way to make the noodles chewier. But if you feel it is hard to roll our, just cover it and rest for another 20 minutes. When the gluten is well relaxed, it should be much easier to roll out.
Hi Elaine,
I follow at the youtube channel The Food Ranger. That guy do the great job for popularisation of Chineese cuisine. Now, I am very much in it and try to figure it out, how to best copy/paste some things. I wondered regarding noodles, is it maybe some diference in a way you extract noodles, because everywhere where this guy was, people do it by pulling it, not by cutting it. How hard is to learn such a thing?
Also would like to know how chiefs in China prepare beef meat on slices. I ahve eat the best Chinese dish in my life in Serbia, where pieces of beefs (and pork also) are cutted in “leaf” shape, tiny (maybe 3-4mm) and it was delicious, soft and tasty. It was mixed with cabbage, bamboo shoots, carrot, and some other vegetables. Its amazing taste. I never found better taste til this moment. If you have some receipe how to prepare beef and/or pork for this kind of dishes I would be very greatfull to you.
Regards
Neshco,
Real Chinese hand pulled noodle is a traditional secret recipe passed by teachers, I never have the chance to make it. So sorry that I cannot figure out how hard the process is. For your second question, I am quite hard to define the dish. Can you please provide more information? For example how it tastes and whether there is any sauce matched?
Tahnks for reply Elaine,
to be honest, there is no specific taste, it is common beef and pork taste, and I have noticed that it was prepared, before was added to the dish. Like it is prepared and stored until use. But, it was incredibly soft and juicy in the same time. Meat absorb flavor from the dish, so it is not about flavor, its just about structure. And I dont know how to achieve that specific softness and juiciness…
My noodle got stuck to each other in the water. Pls advise.
The dough is not well kneaded or you cook the noodle with deficient water.
Finally some good guide… Thank you.
Thanks Albert!