Laping

Ingredients

• 4⅔ ozMung bean starchbase for the noodle slab
• 5⅛ cupsWaterfor mixing the starch
• 5 clovesGarlicfinely minced, for the sauce
• 2Spring onionchopped, for the sauce
• ½ ozCorianderchopped, for the sauce and to garnish
• 3 tbspSoy saucefor the sauce
• 3⅓ tbspSesame oilfor the sauce
• 2 tspRice vinegarfor the sauce
• 3 tbspCrushed dried red chillicoarse, amount to taste
• 1 tspSaltfor the sauce
• 1 tbspSesame seedstoasted, for sprinkling
• 1 tbspGingergrated, for the sauce (optional)
• ½ cupVegetable oilpoured hot over the chilli flakes to make chilli oil (optional)
• 15 ozWheat flouralternative base: starch and gluten are washed out of the dough (optional)
• Turmerica pinch, for the yellow colour of the sheets (optional)
• 1 tbspSichuan pepperbloomed in the oil for the chilli oil (optional)
• Peanutscrushed, for topping (optional)

Method

1. Whisk the mung bean starch with some of the cold water until completely smooth, then stir in the rest of the water. If you want yellow noodles, add a pinch of turmeric now.
2. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan. Once it comes to a boil, lower the heat and keep stirring until the mass turns translucent and is almost too stiff to stir — 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Pour the hot mixture into a shallow heatproof dish and smooth the surface flat.
4. Let it cool, then chill for 4 to 5 hours, until the slab is firm all the way to the middle. Alternatively, leave it out overnight at room temperature.
5. For the sauce, stir the garlic, spring onion and coriander together with the soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, chilli flakes and salt until the salt has dissolved. Grate in ginger if you like.
6. For the chilli oil version, mix the chilli flakes with salt and sesame seeds, heat the vegetable oil — infused with Sichuan pepper if you have it — and pour it over while hot.
7. Turn the set slab out and cut it into long strips with a moistened knife. In Tibet it's usually shredded coarsely on a large grater instead.
8. Pile the strips into shallow bowls, spoon over the sauce and scatter with sesame seeds and coriander. Toss only just before eating and serve cold or at room temperature.

Tips and variations

Mung bean starch is sold in Korean and other Asian grocery shops; potato starch works too but gives softer strips, while mung bean starch makes the firmer noodles. There's a distinction between dry laping, brushed only with chilli oil and rolled, and wet laping, which gets the liquid sauce poured over it. The Nepali street version starts from wheat dough: the starch and gluten are washed out, the starch steamed into thin sheets and the gluten steamed separately and diced, then the sheets are brushed with chilli oil, filled with the gluten cubes, rolled and sliced. You can also build the sauce from garlic-ginger water, lemon juice and chilli oil. As a salad, laping is good with cooked mung bean glass noodles and strips of cucumber, carrot and pepper; crushed peanuts on top add crunch.