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Playing With Food

Chinese Hand-Pulled Noodles

By Fr. Ian Delinger
Published September 28, 2026 at 2:21 PM PDT
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Preparing the bulk noodle dough - just flour, water and salt
1 of 10  — PWF - Noodles 01.jpg
Preparing the bulk noodle dough - just flour, water and salt
Fr. Ian Delinger
The dough gets worked, then rested, three times.
2 of 10  — PWF - Noodles 02.jpg
The dough gets worked, then rested, three times.
Fr. Ian Delinger
Prepping the dough for a portion of noodles.
3 of 10  — PWF - Noodles 03.jpg
Prepping the dough for a portion of noodles.
Fr. Ian Delinger
The resultant bowl of flat noodles
4 of 10  — PWF - Noodles 04.jpg
The resultant bowl of flat noodles
Fr. Ian Delinger
Chili Oil Flat Noodle with Beef Bone
5 of 10  — PWF - Noodles 05.jpg
Chili Oil Flat Noodle with Beef Bone
Fr. Ian Delinger
Numbing Spicy Mince Pork with Round Noodles
6 of 10  — PWF - Noodles 06.jpg
Numbing Spicy Mince Pork with Round Noodles
Fr. Ian Delinger
Fr. Ian's attempt at making noodles ended in using the pasta maker.
7 of 10  — PWF - Noodles 07.jpg
Fr. Ian's attempt at making noodles ended in using the pasta maker.
Fr. Ian Delinger
Fr. Ian made a soup with his machine-cut noodles.
8 of 10  — PWF - Noodles 08.jpg
Fr. Ian made a soup with his machine-cut noodles.
Fr. Ian Delinger
Fr. Ian and his niece Merced attempted to make hand-pulled noodles back in 2019...unsuccessfully.
9 of 10  — PWF - Noodles 09.jpg
Fr. Ian and his niece Merced attempted to make hand-pulled noodles back in 2019...unsuccessfully.
Fr. Ian Delinger
Fr. Ian and Merced's noodles were turned into soup.
10 of 10  — PWF - Noodles 10.jpg
Fr. Ian and Merced's noodles were turned into soup.
Fr. Ian Delinger

After years of searching on the Central Coast, it wasn’t until well after the pandemic that two Chinese restaurants in SLO offered hand-pulled noodles. The Playing With Food Team visited Shake Shake Fresh Noodle to learn how they are made.

This is how Chinese Hand-Pulled Noodles are made!

This is how Chinese Hand-Pulled Noodles are made!

Maneki-neko is the name of the Chinese hand-waving cat

Maneki-neko is the name of the Chinese hand-waving cat.

Playing With Food
Fr. Ian Delinger
Fr. Ian Delinger hosts "Playing with Food," a monthly segment on "Issues & Ideas" that explores unique ways of looking at and preparing everyday foods on the California Central Coast.
See stories by Fr. Ian Delinger
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