Rice noodles are made with rice flour and water as the principal ingredients. Sometimes ingredients such as tapioca or corn starch are added in order to improve the transparency or increase the gelatinous and chewy texture of the noodles. Rice noodles are most common in the cuisines of China, India and Southeast Asia. They are available fresh, frozen, or dried, in various shapes, thicknesses and textures. Fresh noodles are also highly perishable; their shelf life may be just several days.
History
The origin of rice noodles dates back to
China during the
Qin dynasty when people from northern China invaded the south. Due to climatic conditions, the northern Chinese have traditionally preferred wheat and millet which grew in cold weather while the southern Chinese preferred rice which grew in hot weather. Noodles are traditionally made out of wheat and eaten throughout northern China so to adapt, northern cooks tried to prepare "noodles" using rice, thus inventing rice noodles. Over time rice noodles and their processing methods have been introduced around the world, becoming especially popular in
Southeast Asia.
In India,
idiyappam, strings of cooked rice, was known in
Tamilakam around 1st century AD, as per references in the Sangam literature, according to food historian K. T. Achaya.
The shelf life may be extended by drying and removing its moisture content. Studies of drying rice noodles were conducted by the International Food Research Journal.
Varieties
Round thick varieties
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Bánh canh – thick Vietnamese noodles. The Vietnamese word bánh refers to items such as noodles or cakes that are made from flour, and canh means "soup."
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Lai fun – a short and thick variety of Chinese noodles, also referred to as bánh canh by Vietnamese
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Nan gyi thoke – thick round rice noodles mixed with specially prepared chicken curry and chili oil.
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Nan lat – medium thick round rice noodles used in Burma
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Silver needle noodles – a variety of Chinese noodles. It is short, about 5 cm long and 5 mm in diameter. Similar to lai fun but has a tapering end resembling a rat's tail. More commonly known as silver needle noodle in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and rat noodle or "mouse tail noodles" in Malaysia and Singapore and Locupan in Indonesia. They are also known as pin noodles.
Flat thick varieties
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Bánh phở – thick fresh rice noodle used in popular Vietnamese phở noodle soups.
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Shahe fen/chao fen/chow fun – wide Chinese noodles made from rice.
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Migan – type of rice noodle from the Dai people, a Tai cultural group from Yunnan Province, China. It is made from ordinary non-glutinous rice. It is primarily defined by its relatively broad and flat shape
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Juanfen – similar to migan
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Sen lek – narrow flat rice noodle in Thailand
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Nan byar – flat rice noodles used in Burma
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San see
Thin varieties
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Khanom chin – fresh, thin rice noodles in Thai cuisine which are made from rice sometimes fermented for three days, boiled, and then made into noodles by extruding the resulting dough through a sieve into boiling water. Burmese mont bat (မုန့်ဖတ်) or mont di (မုန့်တီ), are similar to this.
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Rice vermicelli – thin form of noodle sometimes referred to as "rice noodles" or "rice sticks"
Others
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Mixian – a type of rice noodle from the Yunnan Province, China, made from ordinary non-glutinous rice. In many areas there are at least two distinct thicknesses produced, a thinner form (roughly 1.5 mm or 0.059 inches in diameter) and a thicker form (roughly 3.5–4 mm or 0.14–0.16 inches in diameter).
Pasta made from brown rice flour is also available (in health food stores in Western nations) as an alternative to wheat flour-based noodles for individuals who react poorly to gluten.
Dishes
Burmese
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Baik kut kyee kaik
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Kat kyi kaik
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Kyar san kyaw
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Kyay oh
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Meeshay
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Mohinga
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Mont di
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Nan gyi thohk
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Nanbyagyi thoke
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Rakhine kyarzan thoke
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Shan khauk swè (similar to Yunnan mi xian)
Cambodian
Chinese
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Beef chow fun
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Cart noodle
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Chao fen – Also known as chow fun in many Chinese restaurants in North America
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Clay-pot Lao shu fen
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Crossing-the-bridge noodles
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Laoyou rice noodles
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Luosifen
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Mixian (noodle)
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Rice noodle roll
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Singapore-style noodles
Filipino
Indonesian
Lao
Malaysian
South Indian/Sri Lankan
Singapore
Thai
Vietnamese
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Bún Cá Rô - Bún is (rice) noodles, Cá is fish, Rô is a type of fresh water fish found in Vietnam
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Bánh canh – Vietnamese soup with thick rice noodles
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Bánh cuốn – sheet of rice flour filled with spiced minced pork and mushroom
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Bánh hỏi
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Bún bò Huế – rice vermicelli in soup with beef, lemon grass and other ingredients
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Bun cha
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Bun Goi Da (Soc Trang Goi Da noodle soup) — "bun" means noodles, "goi" means spring roll, "da" means eating in Vietnamese slang. Its ingredients consist of pork, rice noodles, shrimp, and vegetables. Tamarind sauce adds a sour taste.
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Bún kèn aka trumpet rice noodle soup — A dish (of Khmer cuisine origins) that is a specialty of Phú Quốc.
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Bún mắm
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Bún nước kèn — a speciality of Châu Đốc, in An Giang Province
Bun Nuoc Leo (Rice Noodle Cooked with Fish Broth)
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Bún ốc
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Bun rieu – rice vermicelli in soup with crab meat
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Bún thịt nướng
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Bún quậy — Stirred(quậy) Shrimp Noodles(Bún). Fish paste and shrimp paste are finely ground, mixed well and stirred. Then, boiling water and noodles water are added immediately and served fresh.
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Cao lầu
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Gỏi cuốn / Summer roll
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Hủ tiếu – A version of kuay teow that became popular in the 1960s in Southern Vietnam, especially in Saigon. There are different types of noodles for Hu Tieu, such as soft rice noodles, egg noodles, or chewy tapioca noodles.
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Mì Quảng
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Miến gà rẫy — chicken rice noodles of Phú Quốc
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Phở
See also
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Vietnamese cuisine
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List of Vietnamese culinary specialities
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Noodle soup
