Springy Liang Pi Recipe

Last updated December 22, 2022

If you’re looking for your new favorite summer recipe, look no further. Liang Pi is a delicious cold noodle dish, perfect for summer consumption.

Contents hide

1 What is Liang Pi?

2 How do you make Liang Pi?

2.1 You will need:

2.2 Method:

3 Cooking and serving tips

4 Final say

Next time you’re hungry for something substantial, but you’ve eaten enough BBQ pasta salads to last a lifetime, Liang Pi is a super tasty alternative to change things up in your kitchen this summer.

What is Liang Pi?

Liang Pi, also known as Cold Skin Noodles, is a dish best served cold. This traditional Shaanxi Province dish has since spread throughout China due to its popularity.

It consists of wide, flat noodles made from wheat flour, served with cucumber, beansprouts, and a cold, spicy sauce packed with strong flavors such as ginger, garlic, black vinegar and Sichuan peppercorns.

Cold skin noodles taste slightly different to other types and are chewier.

While it is beloved as a cooling summer dish, it is served all year round in China.

You can also find cold skin noodles in other parts of the world, including the U.S. but to really experience the authentic taste of this dish, you must visit China if you get the opportunity.

Until then, this article will tell you how you can make your own.

How do you make Liang Pi?

If you are fortunate enough to live near a Chinese market, you will be able to grab some ready-made Liang Pi noodles. If not, don’t worry, this recipe will show you how to make your own!

The ingredients list for this recipe does seem quite extensive, but don’t be put off, it’s totally worth it and once you purchase a lot of these items you will be able to use them again and again – a worthwhile investment in good food!

Check out the recipe below.

You will need:

To make the noodles:
- All-purpose flour (2 cups)
- Water (150 ml)
To make the sauce:
- Soy sauce (1 tbsp)
- Sesame oil (½ tbsp)
- Chili oil (to taste)
- Black vinegar (1 tbsp)
- Garlic (1 clove crushed)
- Blanched bean sprouts
- Shredded cucumber
- Coriander leaves
- Chili pepper powder
- Star anise (2)
- Bay leaves (2)
- Sichuan peppercorns (½ tsp)
- Cheese cinnamon bark
- Sesame seeds (1 tbsp toasted)
- Cooking oil (1 cup)
- Salt (to taste)
- Ginger (2 slices)

Method:

Step 1: First, you’re going to make the noodles. Add the all-purpose flour to a large mixing bowl with a pinch of salt to taste. Slowly pout in the water, stirring as you go to avoid any big lumps.

Once it’s all mixed in, knead the dough until it’s just becoming smooth and leave it to rest for 15 minutes

Step 2: Next, you need to wash the dough to separate the gluten from the wheat starch. To do this, you need to pour water over the dough until it is submerged. Wash until the dough has shrunk and the water is cloudy

Step 3: Remove the dough and leave the starchy water to rest overnight. By the morning it will have separated, so there will be a layer of clear water on top and starchy paste underneath

Step 4: Spoon out the clear water and steam the remaining paste. Once done, slice to make our noodles, and you’re ready to move on to making the sauce

Step 5: Add the garlic and ginger to a pan with the cooking oil and sauté on a high heat for a minute or two, then add in the sesame seeds for a further minute to lightly toast them then remove from the heat and leave to cool

Step 6: Place your cold skin noodles into a large bowl and add the shredded cucumber and beansprouts. You can add a protein source if you like to bulk up the meal or leave it as a vegetarian dish

Step 7: In a separate smaller bowl, add the following ingredients:

Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Chili oil
Black vinegar
Garlic
Chili pepper powder
Ginger
Sesame seeds
Salt

Mix the ingredients together until fully mixed and pour it over your noodles and veggies and toss to combine

Step 8: The last thing you can do (which is optional) is make something called ‘spicy water’ which will really enhance the flavor of the dish.

To do this, simply place a piece of Chinese cinnamon, bay leaf, star anise and Sichuan peppercorn and simmer in water for a couple of minutes to bring out all the flavors. Leave to cool before adding to our dish

Step 9: Add the spicy water to taste (optional) and taste test. If you think it needs a little more flavor, add some extra chili oil and/or black vinegar or other seasonings until you’re happy.

Step 10: Portion out the Liang Pi and garnish with some coriander leaves – enjoy!

Cooking and serving tips

Depending on whether you make your own cold skin noodles from scratch or use pre-made packet noodles, this recipe will take just 20 minutes to prepare and cook (if you’re making the noodles from scratch, it will probably require you preparing them the day before you plan on making this dish).

As this is a dish best served cold, most of the time comes for the preparation, and you only need about five minutes to quickly cook the ginger and garlic and toast the sesame seeds.

While the best thing about Liang Pi are the bouncy noodles, if you don’t have access to ready-made noodles, and you don’t have time to make your own, this dish can easily be prepared using different noodles.

This recipe will make two portions, but this dish is also perfect as a quick leftover lunch. So, try making more than you need for a quick grab and go lunch the next day!