In a bowl, mix the flour and water to a rough dough. Tip it out onto a clean work surface and knead it for 5 minutes until smooth. Place it in large clean bowl, cover with a damp kitchen towel and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Tip it out again and knead it for just one minute more. It should be smooth and elastic. Then return to the bowl, cover and rest for 30 minutes.

Cover the dough with 1l of fresh water and start kneading and squishing it between your hands for around 2 minutes to release the starches, taking care not to tear it apart too much. The water will turn completely white. Drain and repeat 4-5 more times with fresh water or until most of the starches have washed out and the water no longer turns white but only a little cloudy (10-15 minutes). You should be left with a dense, springy mass of gluten. To boil the gluten, see Notes. To steam, continue below.

If you have a steamer: Bring a shallow amount of water to a boil in a pan wide enough to hold the steamer. Put the gluten on a plate in the steamer, cover and steam for 30 minutes.

If you don’t have a steamer: Place the gluten on a ceramic plate. Roll some aluminium foil into three golf ball-sized pieces and put them in a wide pan for which you have a lid, then rest the plate on top of the rolled up foil. Carefully pour in boiling water from the kettle to cover the bottom of the pan by a few centimetres without letting the water touch the plate. Return the water to a rapid boil, reduce the heat and steam covered for 30 minutes.

Carefully remove the gluten from the plate and cut it into bite-sized slices or pieces. Your gluten is ready to be used in dishes like Kao Fu.