Our resident chef enlightens you on the tasty varieties of Asian noodles
Walking through the noodle section of your local Asian market can be overwhelming. The shelves are stacked high with a confusing array of fresh, dry, soft and hard noodles, often labeled with unfamiliar names and taking on a seemingly endless variety of shapes, textures, and lengths. To further confuse the noodle neophyte, there is no standardized nomenclature or system of classification to help you know your chow fun from your mi xian.
A person could spend a lifetime diving deep into the varieties and nuances of Asian noodles, but most of us just want a little help picking the right noodle for the right dish or a few tips on what we’re looking at when we browse the noodle aisle. With that in mind, here’s the low down on some of the most common types of Asian noodles you’ll encounter.
Wheat-based noodles are broadly referred to as “mien” in Chinese cuisine and the wheat-based noodle most Westerners are familiar with is “lo mein.” These soft, fat noodles have a doughy texture that works well with recipes that call for heavier sauces and chunky ingredients like beef and vegetables. Sometimes labeled as lao miàn, lo mein noodles are sold fresh or dried and are generally yellow due to an alkaline salt that’s added to the dough. Pro tip: chow mein are the crispy, slightly thinner version (“chow” = frying, “lo” = boiling).
Another noodle that’s popular in the west is the nearly ubiquitous wonton noodle. Usually sold fresh, you’ll find two varieties of these tender and springy noodles in the refrigerated section: round like thin spaghetti and flat like linguini. Each shape will be about a foot long, but either makes a nice wonton soup or Singaporean hokkien mee.
One of the thickest noodles you’ll encounter is the wonderfully dense and chewy Japanese udon noodle. Udon are often used in hot soups or as a base for meat and vegetable toppings. They come in a variety of sizes and can be bought dry, fresh, or even frozen, but lack the bold flavor of another Japanese favorite—soba noodles.
Soba are usually sold dry, are light brown in color with a distinctly nutty flavor and meaty texture that holds its bite even after cooking. The most popular way to eat soba noodles is in a cold broth, or my personal favorite—neat alongside one or two dipping sauces.
No discussion of Asian noodles would be complete without mentioning ramen. While fresh noodles sometime appear in Asian markets, you can almost always find packages of pre-cooked and fried instant noodles. These classic Japanese noodles are made with wheat flour, salt, and an alkaline agent that gives them their signature springy texture that holds firm in hot broths.
A less familiar and sometimes more confusing category of Asian noodles is rice noodles. These fast cooking noodles are usually made from just rice flour and water, so they have a fairly bland taste with either a thin and delicate or thick and soft texture.
Rice vermicelli is a very thin, snow-white noodle with a wispy appearance and texture. Usually sold dry, it takes on a soft, slippery, and slightly chewy texture when cooked. An extremely versatile noodle, it can be cooked into soup, served cold in salads and spring rolls, or tossed into stir fries. Vietnamese pork with vermicelli noodles and fried Singapore noodles are popular dishes featuring these delicate noodles.
Kway teow is a thicker version of rice vermicelli that’s extremely popular in Malaysia and Singapore. About as wide as fettuccini, kway teow clings onto and then absorbs thick, hearty sauces, making for a flavorful, silky dish of noodles.
Chow fun noodles are an extra-wide, steamed rice noodle that comes rolled up like a little Swiss roll. These scroll-like rolls are easy to spot in the cooler and are typically eaten “chee cheong fun style”—rolled-up with layers of shrimp, beef, or pork and covered in soy sauce.
Along with rice and wheat, vegetable starches like sweet potato and mung bean are also used to make Asian noodles. These cook extremely fast—seconds in some cases—and tend to be clear with a chewy and slippery texture.
Clear, glass-like mung bean threads (or cellophane noodles) made from mung bean starch are delicious in Thai or Vietnamese stir-fries and soups.
For the calorie conscious, Japanese yam starch noodles known as shirataki have virtually no calories and work well in Japanese soups, sukiyaki, and stir fries since they soak up flavors like a little yam starch sponge.
Don’t fear the noodle aisle. Go forth and eat!
Mike McJunkin is a native Chattanoogan currently living abroad who has trained chefs, owned and operated restaurants. Join him on Facebook at facebook.com/SushiAndBiscuits