Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures and made into a variety of shapes. The most common noodles are those derived from either Chinese cuisine or Italian cuisine. Chinese noodles are known by a variety of different names, while Italian noodles are known as pasta.
Sōmen, somyeon, or sùmiàn is a very thin noodle made of wheat flour, less than 1.3 mm in diameter. The noodles are used extensively in East Asian cuisines. Japanese sōmen is made by stretching the dough with vegetable oil, forming thin strands that are then air dried for later use. This is distinct from a similar thin noodle, hiyamugi, which is knife-cut.
Vermicelli (, ; Italian:[vermiˈtʃɛlli], is a traditional type of pasta round in section similar to spaghetti. In English-speaking regions it is usually thinner than spaghetti, while in Italy it is thicker. It is typically made with semolina.
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.
Misua, also known as wheat vermicelli, is a very thin variety of salted noodles made from wheat flour. It originated in Fujian, China. The noodles differ from mifen and cellophane noodles in that those varieties are made from rice and mung beans, respectively.
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.
Mee siam is a dish of thin rice vermicelli of hot, sweet and sour flavours, originating in Penang but popular among the Malay and Peranakan communities throughout Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, although the dish is called "Siamese noodle" in Malay and thus appears to be inspired by or adapted from Thai flavours when Thailand was formerly known as Siam. Mee siam is related to kerabu bee hoon although there is a significant difference between the recipes.
Cannelloni are a cylindrical type of egg-based stuffed pasta generally served baked with a filling and covered by a sauce in Italian cuisine. Popular stuffings include spinach and ricotta or minced beef. The shells are then typically covered with tomato sauce.
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.
Chinese Indonesian cuisine is characterized by the mixture of Chinese with local Indonesian style. Chinese Indonesians, mostly descendant of Han ethnic Hokkien and Hakka speakers, brought their legacy of Chinese cuisine, and modified some of the dishes with the addition of Indonesian ingredients, such as kecap manis, palm sugar, peanut sauce, chili, santan and local spices to form a hybrid Chinese-Indonesian cuisine. Some of the dishes and cakes share the same style as in Malaysia and Singapore, known as Nyonya cuisine by the Peranakan.
Rice vermicelli is a thin form of noodle. It is sometimes referred to as "rice noodles" or "rice sticks", but should not be confused with cellophane noodles, a different Asian type of vermicelli made from mung bean starch or rice starch rather than rice grains themselves.
Fried noodles are common throughout East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia. Many varieties, cooking styles, and ingredients exist.
Shahe fen (沙河粉), or hor fun / he fen (河粉), is a type of wide Chinese noodle made from rice. Its Minnan Chinese name, 粿條, is adapted into alternate names which are widely encountered in Southeast Asia, such as kway teow, kwetiau, and kuetiau; Thai: ก๋วยเตี๋ยว (kuaitiao). Shahe fen is often stir-fried with meat and/or vegetables in a dish called chao fen. While chao fen is a transliteration of Mandarin, chow fun from Cantonese is the name most often given to the dish in Chinese restaurants in North America.
Rice noodles 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.
Sevai, also called shavige, saemia and santhakai, is a type of rice vermicelli dish popular in India. While typically made from rice, varieties made from other food grains like wheat, ragi, and others can also be found.
Korean noodles are noodles or noodle dishes in Korean cuisine, and are collectively referred to as guksu in native Korean or myeon in hanja character. The earliest noodles in Asia originate from China, and date back 4,000 years ago. In Korea, traditional noodle dishes are onmyeon, called guksu jangguk, naengmyeon, bibim guksu, kalguksu, kongguksu among others. In royal court, baekmyeon consisting of buckwheat noodles and pheasant broth, was regarded as the top quality noodle dish. Naengmyeon, with a cold soup mixed with dongchimi and beef brisk broth, was eaten in court during summer.
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.
