Neighborhood Eats: Hand-pulled noodles in Manhattan

HAMILTON HEIGHTS (WABC) -- You might not expect to find exotic Chinese food in Hamilton Heights, but the owner of one restaurant was craving the food he grew up on and couldn't find it in his own neighborhood.

So he opened The Handpulled Noodle earlier this year at 3600 Broadway at 148th Street, and the rest is history.

Hamilton Heights was my Ellis Island," Andrew Ding said. "I landed here when I moved here."

Ding loves the neighborhood, but he was underwhelmed by the food offerings. He took a chance by first opening a cafe called the Chipped Cup in 2012, but The Handpulled Noodle is his newest venture a couple of doors south. And instantly he gained a following.

The food is the kind you find in northwest China, where Ding was born.

"Northwest Chinese cuisine benefits from its proximity to a lot of the central Asian countries that surround it," Ding said. "Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, where the silk road spice trade traveled through."

Pne of the biggest draws is the hand-pulled noodles, pulled for each and every order. They're served a variety of ways, often with lamb. There are dumplings, scallion pancakes and salads, including the cucumber and wood ear, a kind of fungus.

The dried wood ear soaks overnight to get to the right texture, and the cucumber is peeled and chopped. The two are served with a vinaigrette that gets a boost from sesame oil.

And some folks make sure to hit both of Ding's spots in Hamilton Heights.

"At least 50 percent of the people who come are regulars already," Ding said. "And they come in knowing what they want, which I find a great achievement in a short amount of time."

Cucumber Woodear Salad Recipe

What you need:

--2 large cucumbers

--2 cups of dried wood ear mushroom

Dressing:

--4 tbsp lemon juice

--1 cup white vinegar

--3 1/2 tbsp sugar

--1 tbsp salt

--1/2 tbsp sesame oil

Instructions:

Wisk dressing ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

Peel Cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise and remove seeds and then cut into 1/4-inch thick pieces.

Soak dried wood ear mushrooms in hot tap water for an hour to rehydrate (you can store a bowl of wood ear mushrooms soaked in water in the refrigerator for several days ready to be used). Certain varieties of wood ear mushroom will still have some hard bits that will need to be removed before serving.

If this salad is made ahead of time, you can chill all ingredients in the fridge before tossing at the time of serving.

Serving:

Toss dressing with prepped cucumber and wood ear mushroom and combine well.