Beef short rib and spring onion biang biang noodles with pickled cucumbers

Start by making the beef short ribs. Preheat the oven to 140°C

Rub the ribs all over with a bit of vegetable oil, then season with salt and pepper

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat, and sear each of the ribs on the outside until golden brown

Remove the beef from the pot, then add the onion and carrot. After cooking for 5 minutes or so over medium heat, add in the soy sauce

Once bubbling, add in the tomato paste. Cook it out for a few minutes, before stirring in the flour

Add in the bay leaf and beef stock – slowly whisking it into the flour at first, then adding the rest

Stir everything together, before adding back the beef short ribs

Bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid and place in the oven to roast for 6 hours. Check the water level regularly, and top up as needed

About 90 minutes before the beef is done, make the biang biang noodles. Mix together the flour and salt in a large bowl, then add the water in increments, stirring as you go

Knead for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth, then divide into eight even pieces and roll each one into a log-like shape. Lightly coat each one in oil 

Leave the logs to rest, covered, for an hour

Next, prepare the cucumber salad. Use a rolling pin to smash along the length of the the cucumber, so it’s lightly crushed

Chop it into small pieces, then add it to a large bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients. Set aside to marinade while the remaining ingredients are prepped

Add all the ingredients for the spring onion oil, apart from the oil, to a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, or a large heatproof bowl

Add the oil to a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat to 140°C 

Carefully pour the hot oil over the aromatics – it will bubble up a lot, so stand back and do it in increments if needed

Set aside to infuse while you make the remaining components

Remove the beef short ribs from the oven. Carefully remove the short ribs from the sauce, and place them on a plate

Place a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl. Strain the sauce through the fine mesh sieve, then transfer back to the pan

Bring to a simmer, and then add back the short ribs. Reduce the sauce to a glaze, season to taste, and set aside while you make the noodles

After the noodles have rested for 1 hour, bring a large pot of water to the boil, and lightly dust two large oven trays with flour

Roll out each of the logs using a greased rolling pin into thin rectangles slightly longer and wider than your rolling pin, on a lightly oiled surface. Make an indent lengthwise in the centre of the rolled out dough using a chopstick or the handle of a thin wooden spoon

Hold the dough by its two short sides and stretch it out, slapping it against the table as you go to help it stretch. The ‘biang’ sound of the noodles slapping against the table is where biang biang noodles get their name!

Use the middle thin indent you made earlier to separate the noodle lengthwise into two very long, very thin pieces 

Lay the noodles stretched out – not in a little nest – on a floured tray. Biang biang noodles have a tendency to stick to themselves, so it’s important to make sure they aren’t left in a clump. To avoid this, you can also stretch and cook the noodles to order – two logs makes one portion

Stretch the remaining portions of noodles, and lay them out on the floured trays, trying to make sure they don’t touch the other noodles as much as possible

Cook the noodles in the water for a couple of minutes, or until they are tender – the exact time will depend on how thick your noodles are. We recommend doing this in batches of two noodles at a time, fishing the noodles out and straining them in a strainer once they’re done, and then repeating with the remaining noodles

Toss the noodles in a large bowl along with all the spring onion oil, then divide the noodles between serving bowls 

Top each bowl with one of the beef short ribs, some smashed cucumber salad, fresh coriander, chilli oil, sesame seeds and chilli flakes