Wheat Noodles
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ban mian or pan mee – a hand-torn noodle from China and Malaysia; home-made by tearing off rough, flat pieces of dough and boiling immediately.
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chūkamen – a thin, pale yellow Japanese noodle; served hot in ramen and yakisoba, and cold in Hiyashi Chūka. Found fresh, dried or frozen in packets in Japanese supermarkets, and fresh or dried in larger Western supermarkets.
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udon – a very thick, white Japanese no odle with a square cross-section; served hot or cold. In its fresh form, it’s known as yude udon. Found fresh, dried or frozen in packets in Japanese supermarkets, and fresh or dried in packets in larger Western supermarkets.
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sōmen – a thin, white Japanese noodle; usually served cold. Found dried in packets in Japanese and larger Western supermarkets.
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Shanghai noodle (cui mian) – a very thick, white Chinese noodle with a squarish cross-section. Found fresh in packets in oriental and Asian supermarkets. Udon (fresh or dried) can be substituted.
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lamian or laghman – a hand-pulled noodle from China and Central Asia; home-made by stretching, pulling and twisting sausages of dough.
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misua – a thread-like salted Chinese noodle. Found dried and fresh in packets in oriental and Asian supermarkets. Rice vermicelli can be substituted.
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reshteh – a flat, narrow, pale noodle from Central Asia; used in Persian and Afghani cuisine. Found dried in packets in Middle Eastern shops.
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standard thick wheat noodles – these are used across Asia where they are generally known by the Chinese names of lo mein (Cantonese), lāo miàn (Pinyin) and lo mi (Hokkien); called gyohn khao swè in Burma. Found dried, fresh or frozen in packets in oriental and Asian supermarkets, and dried and fresh in Western supermarkets. Can replace with medium egg noodles found fresh or dried in Western supermarkets (these are usually wheat noodles made with egg). I’m a fan of Sharwoods.
Rice Noodles
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broad, flat rice noodles – aka ribbon noodles, these are used across Asia where they are generally known by the Chinese names of ho fun and chow fun (Cantonese), shahe fen and he fen (Pinyin) and hor fun (Hokkien); called sen yai in Thailand and hsan khao swè in Burma. Think of them as the rice version of tagliatelle. Slightly chewy in texture. Found fresh, in strips or sheets that can be cut to the desired width, or dried in oriental and Asian supermarkets, and dried in larger Western supermarkets.
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narrow, flat rice noodles – aka rice sticks, these South-east Asian noodles are technically the same as ho fun, but narrower; called bánh phở in Vietnam and sen lek in Thailand. Found dried in large shrink-wrapped bundles in oriental and Asian supermarkets.
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kway teow – a flat, broad white noodle with a slightly chewy texture; used across Asia but mainly in Malaysia and Singapore; also known by its Chinese name guotiao (Pinyin), and called guay tiew in Thailand and kwetiau in Indonesia. Found fresh, in strips or sheets that can be cut to the desired width, or dried in large shrink-wrapped bundles in oriental and Asian supermarkets, and dried in larger Western supermarkets. Differs from ho fun in that kway teow is technically made from ricecakes sliced into strips (and is therefore slightly stiffer than ho fun), but interchangeable for most recipes.
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rice vermicelli noodles – thin, white South-east Asian noodles; known by their Chinese names of mǐfěn (Pinyin), mai fun (Cantonese), and bee hoon (Hokkien); called bihun in Indonesia and Malaysia, bihon in the Philippines, sen mi or sen mee in Thailand and mohinga but in Burma. Found fresh and dried in large shrink-wrapped bundles in oriental and Asian supermarkets and larger Western supermarkets.
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thick, round rice noodles – South-east Asian noodles; called bún in Vietnam, mǐxiàn in China, meeshay but in Burma and laksa noodle in Malaysia; also labelled confusingly as Chinese Guilin rice vermicelli. Think of them as the rice version of spaghetti. Found dried in large shrink-wrapped bundles in oriental and Asian supermarkets.
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rice flake noodle (sen kuay chap) – a big, flat Thai rice noodle shaped like a tortilla chip; also called triangle noodle. Occasionally found shaped as squares. Found dried in packets in oriental and Asian supermarkets. Curls up into rolls when cooked, hence also called ‘rolled noodle’.
Buckwheat Noodles
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naengmyeon – a thin, grey, translucent Korean noodle; served cold. Found dried in large shrink-wrapped bundles in oriental and Asian supermarkets.
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soba – a thin, grey Japanese noodle with a square cross-section; served hot or cold. Found dried in packets in Japanese and larger Western supermarkets. Sometimes made with extra ingredients such as matcha (Japanese green tea).
Egg Noodles
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thin egg noodles (you mian) – yellow Chinese noodles made from a mixture of eggs and wheat flour; called bakmi in Malaysia and bami in Thailand. Found fresh or dried in packets in oriental and Asian supermarkets, and in larger Western supermarkets.
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thick egg noodles – pale yellow Chinese noodles with a square cross-section; known across Asia by the Chinese names of yῑ miàn/yῑ fǔ miàn (Pinyin), yi mein/yee min/yee foo min/e-fu (Cantonese), and ee mee/ee foo mee (Hokkien). Usually labelled as yee mein or e-fu in shops and restaurants. Chewy and slightly spongy, these are made from a mixture of eggs and wheat flour, fried and then dried. They can be found in bricks in oriental and Asian supermarkets.
Other Noodles
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glass noodles – thin, translucent noodles used across Asia; generally made from mung-bean starch (flour) but sometimes from other starches. Also known in English as cellophane noodles or crystal noodles. Glass noodles made of mung-bean starch are known as mung-bean thread noodles, bean thread noodles or mung-bean vermicelli in English, and are called fěnsῑ in China, tanghoon in Malaysia, kyar-zun but in Burma, soun or suun in Indonesia, sotanghon in the Philippines, phing or fing in Tibet, bún tàu or bún tào in Vietnam, and woon sen or wun sen in Thailand. Dangmyeon are Korean glass noodles made of sweet-potato starch; harusame are Japanese glass noodles made of potato starch; miến or miến dong are Vietnamese glass noodles made of canna lily starch. Glass noodles can be found dried in small and large shrink-wrapped bundles in oriental and Asian supermarkets.
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hu tieu – a flat, narrow, translucent noodle made from tapioca starch; used in Vietnamese and Cambodian dishes. Found dried in shrink-wrapped bundles in oriental and Asian supermarkets.
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shirataki or konnyaku – a thin, translucent, gelatinous Japanese noodle made from the root of the devil’s tongue yam (aka elephant yam or konjac yam); ‘shirataki’ means ‘white waterfall’. So low in calories they’re also known as zero noodles or miracle noodles. Found wet, packed in liquid, in Japanese and specialist stores. Some brands require rinsing or boiling before use.
