Lamian (hand-pulled noodles)
拉面 / 拉麵 · lāmiàn (pinyin)
Wheat noodles made by hand-stretching and folding dough into strands, served in soup or stir-fried; Lanzhou beef noodles are a well-known example.
What it means
Lamian (拉面, lāmiàn) means 'pulled noodles'. Wikipedia describes the noodle maker twisting, stretching and folding the dough into strands by the weight of the dough, and says the number of folds sets strand length and thickness. Omnivore's Cookbook describes pulling a strip in one motion, then bouncing it on the table to thin it, folding and repeating for thin noodles; flat and wide noodles are pulled without folding.
Styles differ. Wikipedia describes Lanzhou style as quick, forceful pulls, with noodles sometimes slammed against the board, and Beijing style as a more delicate stretch with more flour dusting. Gansu tourism pages describe Lanzhou beef noodles with five features: clear soup, white radish, red chili, a green herb and yellow noodles, with noodles that can be wide or thin to suit the diner.
Lamian is typically served hot in a beef-flavored soup or stir-fried with sauce, according to Wikipedia. Omnivore's Cookbook says thin noodles suit soups or frying, flat noodles suit soups or saucy dishes, and wide noodles pair with heavy sauces.
A common mix-up
Lamian noodles are pulled and stretched; knife-cut noodles are shaved off a block of dough into boiling water. They are different techniques.
Questions people ask
What does lamian mean?
It means 'pulled noodles' (lā, to pull, and miàn, noodles). The dough is repeatedly stretched and folded by hand.
What is Lanzhou beef noodle soup?
A noodle soup from Lanzhou, Gansu, with clear soup, radish, chili and green herbs. A Gansu tourism page says Lanzhou beef noodles were first created in the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1875-1908).
Sources & further reading
Background and preparation references. Our descriptions are editorial summaries, not restaurant reviews.