Une recette de nouille chinoise pour les amateurs(trices) :
1) Coat bench top in oil.
2) Place flour in a mound on the bench
3) Make a deep "volcano" hole in the top of the mound (i.e a hole going to the table and surrounded on all sides by flour.
3) Slowly add water to the flour by pouring it into the hole in the flour and then mixing the flour in on top of it. You basically try to use the minimum amount of water necessary to achieve viable doughy consistency, and so you should add a little bit of water then mix it in. Add a little bit of water, then mix it in, etc etc.
4) Once you have dough that you can knead, knead it out so that it is thin and flat (don't make it too thin, just as long as the surface area is reasonably even.
5) Sprinkle a small amount of the 速溶蓬灰 over the surface of the dough, and then fold the dough back in on itself and continue to knead it.
6) Knead, knead, knead (adding more oil to the table top as necessary).
7) After a while, roll the dough out into a thickish, cylindrical shape. Grab the ends and pull them out, and then wave your hands up and down, causing the center of the dough to bang on the table a little bit like a whip (it may take several attempts to get the correct technique for this). Then bring the ends together and give them a twist, causing the dough itself to twist up. This explanation is a bit awkward, but if you've ever seen someone making 拉面 you should understand what I mean.
8)Knead, roll, bang, twist. Knead, roll, bang, twist. (add more oil to the table top as necessary).
9)Continue until the dough reaches the correct look and feel. I imagine it would be really difficult to know what this is unless you have someone to show you, and you've practiced it a few times. Basically it should have a yellowish-tinge, and feel slightly elasticky. The dough itself should also be smooth. Kneading too little or too much will result in noodles that don't pull.
10) Break off enough dough for one bowl of noodles.
11) Roll into a thin cylindrical shape.
12) Grab the ends and pull them out.
13) Bring the ends back together, holding them with just one hand, and making a sort of triangle (the base of the triangle will be on the bench, and the tip will be made by the two ends that have come together.
14) Insert fingers into the middle space made by the triangle.
15) Pull up with the hand that is holding the tip of the triangle, and then pull both hands out. (Pulling up rather than out at the beginning is the key to getting an even and smooth pull).
16) Use a lighter version of the "bang" technique mentioned above to bounce the noodles up and down.
17) Repeat steps 13-16 in quick succession 5-6 times (depending on how thick/thin you want the noodles). Doing it too slowly will cause the noodles to sag and break.
18) Bring the ends of the noodles together a final time, and then break off the top.
19) Place noodles in boiling water, and boil for 2-3 minutes.
20) Take the noodles out, add whatever topping/sauce/flavouring you like
21) Eat and enjoy
As you can see, making 拉面 is far more involved than just having the correct recipe. There is also a reasonable amount of technique required. Steps 7-9 and 12-17 took me quite a few attempts before I got them right, and I had someone there with me showing me how to do it