Smoked garlic biang biang noodles with fermented lemon salsa

Start four days ahead by making the fermented lemon zest. Add all the ingredients to a food processor and blitz until it has a salsa-like consistency

Add to a small, sterilised jar. Make sure everything is submerged beneath the brine

Cover, and leave in a cool dark place to ferment for 4 days. Open the lid every day to allow any excess gas to escape

2 hours ahead of serving, make the biang biang noodles. Mix together the flour and salt in a large bowl, then add the water bit by bit, 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 while you prepare the smoked garlic oil 

Add all the ingredients for the smoked garlic 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

Once the dough has rested, bring a large pot of water to the boil for the noodles, 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

Once the noodles are cooked, toss them with all the smoked garlic oil in a large heatproof bowl, seasoning with salt as needed

For the shredded salad, toss all the ingredients together, before seasoning with salt to taste 

To serve, divide the noodles between bowls, then top with the shredded carrot salad, coriander, sesame seeds and a generous spoon of the fermented lemon salsa