Tapioca is a starch extracted from the tubers of the cassava plant, a species native to the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, but whose use is now spread throughout South America. It is a perennial shrub adapted to the hot conditions of tropical lowlands. Cassava copes better with poor soils than many other food plants.
Sago is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of Metroxylon sagu. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is called saksak, rabia and sagu. The largest supply of sago comes from Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia. Large quantities of sago are sent to Europe and North America for cooking purposes. It is traditionally cooked and eaten in various forms, such as rolled into balls, mixed with boiling water to form a glue-like paste (papeda), or as a pancake.
Malay cuisine is the traditional food of the ethnic Malays of Southeast Asia, residing in modern-day Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Southern Thailand and the Philippines as well as Cocos Islands, Christmas Island, Sri Lanka and South Africa.
Chinese noodles vary widely according to the region of production, ingredients, shape or width, and manner of preparation. Noodles were invented in China, and are an essential ingredient and staple in Chinese cuisine. They are an important part of most regional cuisines within China, and other countries with sizable overseas Chinese populations.
Cellophane noodles, or fensi, sometimes called glass noodles, are a type of transparent noodle made from starch and water. A stabilizer such as chitosan may also be used.
Noodle soup refers to a variety of soups with noodles and other ingredients served in a light broth. Noodle soup is a common dish across East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Himalayan states of South Asia. Various types of noodles are used, such as rice noodles, wheat noodles and egg noodles.
Bánh tráng or bánh đa nem, a Vietnamese term, sometimes called rice paper wrappers, rice crepes, rice wafers or nem wrappers, are edible Vietnamese wrappers used in Vietnamese cuisine, primarily in finger foods and appetizers such as Vietnamese nem dishes. The term rice paper wrappers can sometimes be a misnomer, as some banh trang wrappers are made from rice flour supplemented with tapioca flour or sometimes replaced completely with tapioca starch. The roasted version is bánh tráng nướng.
Rice noodles, or simply rice noodle, are noodles 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.
Bánh canh are a thick Vietnamese noodles that can be made from tapioca flour or a mixture of rice and tapioca flour. "Cake" refers to the thick sheet of uncooked dough from which the noodles are cut.
A rice noodle roll, also known as a steamed rice roll and cheung fun, and as look funn or look fun in Hawaii, is a Cantonese dish originating from Guangdong Province in southern China, commonly served as either a snack, small meal or variety of dim sum. It is a thin roll made from a wide strip of shahe fen, filled with shrimp, beef, vegetables, or other ingredients. Seasoned soy sauce – sometimes with siu mei drippings – is poured over the dish upon serving. When plain and made without filling, the rice noodle is also known as jyu cheung fun, literally "pork intestine noodle", a reference to its resemblance of a pig's intestines. There is no official recording of the history of rice noodle rolls; most cookbooks claim that it was first made in the 1930s. In Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, people called the dish laai cheung because it is a noodle roll that pulled by hand.
Vietnamese cuisine includes many types of noodles. They come in different colors and textures and can be served wet or dry, hot or cold, and fresh (tươi), dried (khô), or fried.
Silver needle noodle, rat noodle, bee tai bak, runny nose vermicelli or lot, giam ee (เกี้ยมอี๋) is a variety of Chinese noodle. The noodles are short, about 5 cm long and 5 mm in diameter, and white semi-transparent in colour. The noodles are available in many Chinese markets in Chinese populated areas such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.
In Vietnamese, the term bánh translates loosely as "cake" or "bread", but refers to a wide variety of prepared foods that can easily be eaten by hands or chopsticks. With the addition of qualifying adjectives, bánh refers to a wide variety of sweet or savory, distinct cakes, buns, pastries, sandwiches, and other food items, which may be cooked by steaming, baking, frying, deep-frying, or boiling. Foods made from wheat flour or rice flour are generally called bánh, but the term may also refer to certain varieties of noodle and fish cake dishes, such as bánh canh and bánh hỏi.
Acorn noodle soup, called dotoriguksu in Korean, is a noodle soup consisting of Korean noodles made from acorn flour or starch, salt, and a combination of grain-based flour.
A great variety of cassava-based dishes are consumed in the regions where cassava is cultivated, and the ingredient is included many national or ethnic specialities.
Khao piak sen is a rice noodle soup that is a part of traditional Lao cuisine. It is a common comfort food that's great for a cold day. It is the "chicken noodle soup" of Laotian cuisine and does not require too many ingredients, but makes a perfect dish with its simplicity. It is often made in large batches to eat with a large group of people. It is sometimes prepared using pork belly. Chopsticks are commonly used to consume the soup, and it is commonly eaten as a breakfast dish. Khao piak sen is also similar to the Vietnamese noodle soup known as bánh canh. Both khao piak sen and bánh canh noodles are thick and chewy like udon noodles.
Palembangese cuisine is the cuisine of the Palembangese people of the city of Palembang in the South Sumatra province of Indonesia. It is the second most well-known cuisine from Sumatra after Padang.
Indonesian noodles are a significant aspect of Indonesian cuisine which is itself very diverse. Indonesian cuisine recognizes many types of noodles, with each region of the country often developing its own distinct recipes.
