Different Styles Of Noodle Used In Asian Cooking

The mythical stories say that Marco Polo brought noodles back to Italy with him from Asia, using the ingredients on hand in his motherland – mostly semolina and durum wheat. However, the noodles in Asia are made up of far more than that.

Rice, tapioca, sweet potato, buckwheat, yam and other grains and vegetables can all be used to make up the different styles of noodles. Some are meant to be chewy and al dente like Italian noodles, but others are supposed to be on the verge of rubbery, whilst others are meant to be soft and velvety.

Often symbols of longevity in celebratory meals, Asian noodles can be deep fried, pan fried or added to soups or stir fries. Each Asian cuisine has had around 4,000 years to perfect their own noodle dish, which means picking the right ones can be daunting (unless you go for instant noodles, of course!).

With this in mind, we have taken a look at some of the different styles of noodles and how they are used within Asian cooking:

Udon

Udon are a Japanese wheat-based noodle which are fat, chewy and tender. They can be sold dried or fresh, and have a very neutral flavour – although their chewiness is particularly satisfying in a strongly-flavoured broth. When sold fresh, they really only need to be reheated, not cooked for any long period of time.

Pancit

These noodles are very common in Filipino cooking, but they were actually introduced to the Philippines by the Chinese; although they differ slightly. In the Philippines, they’re often eaten as a good luck birthday dish, and the noodles are made from rice. However, the Chinese variation are made from eggs and wheat. They tend to be a yellowish colour and have a greater opacity.

You’ll find them in the dried section, and will sometimes be called Pancit Caton or chow mein noodles.

Vermicelli rice stick

Probably the most versatile noodles in the arsenal, you will find these noodles included in a number of Southeast Asian dishes. They tend to be the substance to Vietnamese fresh rolls or in vermicelli bowl with herbs and the lime-fish sauce dressing traditional to the region.

However, you can also expect to find them in South Indian breakfast dishes, Malaysian soups, Taiwanese fried noodle dishes and Singaporean cuisine. You will also find a plethora of brands selling their own version of the noodle, which means it can be hard to pick the right ones. As a general rule, if you are using for a stir fry or soup, you should steer clear of the super skinny ones as they tend to get mushy if oversoaked or overcooked. Aside from that, it pretty much boils down to personal choice.

Pho noodles

These are skinny rice noodles around 1/16 inch wide, that, once blanched in boiling water, sit nicely in individual serving bowls to be topped with whatever protein, vegetables and flavoured broth you so desire. There are purists who say that banh pho (Vietnamese pho dishes) should have square or rectangular cross-sections, but no one is going to notice that once they start guzzling them down!

Rice stick (or banh pho my-tho)

There are many different styles of these white, opalescent rice noodles; flat ones, skinny ones, fresh ones, dried bird nests ones, and so on… makes the job of trying to decipher which ones work best for your purpose a bit of a headache!

Rice noodles are primarily made of rice flower and water, sometimes with corn-starch or tapioca added. Many just need to be soaked into hot water until pliable, then rinsed, drained and added to the dish. The flat wide ones are likened to fettuccine of Italy, and perfect for dishes such as pad Thai, whereas the skinny ones will very often appear in soups.

Buckwheat soba

These Japanese noodles are, of course, made from buckwheat and wheat flour and usually have a buckwheat content ranging from 10% to 100% - the darker the colour, the higher the buckwheat percentage.

As buckwheat is non-glutinous, it can be tricky work with, but the noodles do lend an earthy, nutty chewiness to dishes; perfect served in a soup or a cold noodle salad. They tend to be just boiled for minutes until tender, or else they can become mushy and overcooked.

Search our online store for these different varieties of noodles, and try them next time you are cooking up a storm!