Turmeric Hand-Pulled Noodles

To make the dough, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour and turmeric until combined. Add the water and mix with a flexible spatula to form a shaggy dough. Using your hands, knead the dough until it forms a fairly smooth ball, about 5 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap and knead again until the dough is very smooth, about 5 minutes more. Rewrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest for 15 minutes more.

Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a rectangle about 1/2 inch (12 mm) thick. Cut the dough crosswise into 6 equal strips. Brush a plate or quarter baking sheet with oil. Place the dough strips on the plate and brush both sides of the dough with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours.

Just before forming and cooking the noodles, prepare the toppings. Combine the cumin seeds and both peppercorns in a mortar and finely crush using a pestle. In a separate small bowl, stir together the green onions, lemon zest, ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes. Set both aside.

Fill a large pot a little over half full with water. Bring to a boil over high heat.

To form the noodles, dust your work surface with a little flour. Place one piece of dough on your work surface and, using the palm of your hand, flatten the dough until it is about as long as a chopstick. Press a chopstick into the dough lengthwise in the center of the dough to form an indentation, being careful not to press it all the way through the dough. Remove the chopstick and set aside. Using two hands, grab the short ends of the dough and start to stretch the dough while simultaneously slapping the dough against the counter (this takes a little practice!). The noodle should stretch to about 3 feet (1 m) long. Using your hands, tear the noodle lengthwise in two along the groove that you made with the chopstick.

Immediately place the noodles in the boiling water and cook until the noodles are chewy and float to the surface, 30 to 45 seconds. Transfer the noodles to a colander and repeat the process with the remaining pieces of dough.

Divide the noodles among 2 or 3 individual bowls. Sprinkle the some of the peppercorn mixture and some of the green onion mixture over each bowl of noodles to taste, then add a drizzle of soy sauce to each bowl.

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the oil until hot. Carefully divide the oil among the bowls so the spices and aromatics sizzle. Stir together and serve hot. Serves 2 to 3.

Courtesy of Kristina Cho, founder of Eat Cho Food and author of Mooncakes & Milk Bread