The making of Chinese noodles

A couple of weeks ago, my best buddy whose family is Korean, took me to an authentic Korean restaurant that specializes in homemade Chinese noodles. The racket from the dough being slammed on the counter repeatedly was both annoying and intriguing. So I asked my friend to arrange for a quick photo session in the kitchen when we returned today.

The noodle maker, Hyeong Mu Choe, has been doing this job for almost 18 years now. And his dexterity shows -- in spades. He took a 'loaf' of dough and bam, bam, over his head, down to the counter, twirling it when it got long enough, folding it over, slamming it again. Until, almost as if by magic, the lump of dough started separating into strands. Several foldings and slammings later, Mr. Choe was holding dozens of strands of freshly made noodles (see extra). Needless to say, the man is in amazing shape :)

If you're interested in the whole process from start to finish, here's the link.