Ashlyan-fu

Step 1: Make the jelly the day before or in the morning. Whisk 2 ½ oz potato starch into 200 ml of the 2 ½ cups water. Boil the rest in a small pan, then pour in the starch mixture, whisking hard over a low heat for 2–3 minutes, until it turns thick and see-through. Pour into an oiled dish 2 cm deep and chill for at least 3 hours, until set firm.

Step 2: Make the sauce: heat 3 tbsp sunflower oil in a pan over a medium heat and fry 4 cloves garlic for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add 1 red pepper, 3 ½ oz daikon or green radish, 2 tomatoes, 1 tbsp tomato paste and 1 ½ tsp chilli flakes and cook for 8 minutes, stirring, until thick and the oil turns red. Stir in 1 tbsp light soy sauce and cool.

Step 3: Stir ¼ cup white wine or rice vinegar, 1 tsp sugar and 1 ½ tsp salt into 5 cups cold water until dissolved. Taste: it should be sharply sour and well salted. Chill.

Step 4: Beat 2 eggs with a pinch of salt. Cook in a lightly oiled pan over a medium-low heat as two thin omelettes, 1 minute a side, without colouring. Roll and cut into thin strips.

Step 5: Cook 14 oz thick wheat noodles (udon-style or lagman) in boiling water until tender (about 4 minutes for fresh), then rinse under cold running water until completely cold. Drain well. A common mistake is skipping the cold rinse: the noodles go on cooking and turn gummy.

Step 6: Turn out the jelly and cut into strips or 1.5 cm cubes.

Step 7: Into each deep bowl put noodles and jelly, top with a spoon of the sauce, egg strips and ⅓ oz fresh coriander, then pour over enough cold broth to almost cover. Add 2 tbsp chilli oil to taste and stir well before eating.