Rice noodles

Rice noodles are a type of noodle whose main ingredients are rice flour and water. To make them more transparent or give them a chewier, more gelatinous texture, cooks sometimes add tapioca or corn starch. These noodles are especially common in the cuisines of China, India, and Southeast Asia. They come in many shapes, thicknesses, and textures, and can be bought fresh, frozen, or dried. Fresh rice noodles spoil quickly, often lasting only a few days.

The history of rice noodles goes back to China’s Qin dynasty, when people from the north moved south. Northern Chinese traditionally preferred wheat and millet, which grow in cold climates, while southerners favored rice, which thrives in heat. Since northerners were used to wheat noodles, they tried making noodles from rice instead, creating the first rice noodles. Over time, these noodles and their production methods spread worldwide, becoming especially popular in Southeast Asia. In India, a dish called *idi-appam*—strings of cooked rice—was known in the ancient Tamil country around the 1st century AD, according to references in Sangam literature cited by food historian K. T. Achaya. Drying rice noodles can extend their shelf life by removing moisture; the International Food Research Journal has published studies on this drying process.

There are many varieties of rice noodles. Round thick types include *bánh canh* (thick Vietnamese noodles, where *bánh* means flour-based items and *canh* means soup), *lai fun* (a short, thick Chinese noodle also called *bánh canh* by Vietnamese), *nan gyi thoke* (thick round noodles mixed with chicken curry and chili oil), *nan lat* (medium-thick round noodles from Burma), and silver needle noodles (short, about 5 cm long and 5 mm in diameter, with tapering ends like a rat’s tail; known as silver needle noodles in Hong Kong and Taiwan, rat or mouse tail noodles in Malaysia and Singapore, *locupan* in Indonesia, and *giam ee* noodles in Thailand). Flat thick varieties include *bánh phở* (thick fresh noodles used in Vietnamese phở), *shahe fen/chao fen/chow fun* (wide Chinese rice noodles), *migan* (a broad, flat noodle from the Dai people of Yunnan, made from ordinary non-glutinous rice), *juanfen* (similar to migan), *sen lek* (narrow flat noodles in Thailand, used in pad thai and soups), *nan byar* (flat rice noodles from Burma, where *byar* means flat), and *san see*. Thin varieties include *khanom chin* (fresh, thin Thai noodles made from rice sometimes fermented for three days, boiled, and extruded through a sieve; similar to Burmese *mont bat* or *mont di*) and rice vermicelli (a thin form often called “rice noodles” or “rice sticks”). Other types include *mixian* (from Yunnan, made from ordinary non-glutinous rice, available in thinner and thicker forms) and pasta made from brown rice flour, sold in Western health food stores as a wheat-free alternative.

Rice noodles appear in many dishes across different cuisines. Burmese dishes include *baik kut kyee kaik*, *kat kyi kaik*, *kyar san kyaw*, *kyay oh*, *meeshay*, *mohinga*, *mont di*, *nan gyi thohk*, *nanbyagyi thoke*, *Rakhine kyarzan thoke*, and *Shan khauk swè* (similar to Yunnan *mi xian*, a soup version of *meeshay* without gel, using fish sauce instead of soy sauce, with flat or round noodles). Cambodian dishes include *kuyteav*, *num banhchok*, *chha kuy teav* (stir-fried), *kŭytéav mii kiəv* (a wonton noodle soup), *mee Katang* (a Cambodian version of beef chow fun, with noodles under stir-fried beef and vegetables, topped with scrambled eggs), *mee Kola*, *cha mi sour*, and *lort cha*. Chinese dishes include *beef chow fun*, *cart noodle*, *chao fen* (called *chow fun* in many North American Chinese restaurants), *clay-pot lao shu fen*, *crossing-the-bridge noodles*, *laoyou rice noodles*, *luosifen*, *mixian*, *rice noodle roll*, and *Singapore-style noodles*. Filipino dishes include *mami bihon*, *pancit bihon*, *pancit choca*, *pancit luglug*, *pancit Malabon*, *pancit miki-bihon* (round egg noodles with *bihon*), *pancit palabok*, and *pancit sinanta* (flat egg noodles, *bihon*, clams, and chicken in annatto-colored broth, served with *pinakufu*). Indonesian dishes include *bihun*, *bihun goreng*, *bakso*, *ketoprak*, *kwetiau ayam*, *kwetiau goreng*, *kwetiau kuah*, *kwetiau Medan*, *kwetiau sapi*, *lakso*, and *soto*. Lao dishes include *feu*, *khao piak sen*, *khao poon*, *khao soi*, *khua mee* or *pad lao* (stir-fried noodles with scrambled egg, similar to pad thai), and *mee ka tee*. Malaysian dishes include *char kway teow*, *kway chap*, *laksa*, and *mee siam*. South Indian and Sri Lankan dishes include *idiyappam* and *sevai*. Singaporean dishes include *beef kway teow*, *crab bee hoon*, *Hokkien mee*, *Katong laksa*, and *satay bee hoon*. Thai dishes include *khanom chin*, *khao soi*, *kuai chap* (pork broth with rolled rice noodle sheets, pork intestines, blood tofu, and boiled egg), *kuai tiao khua kai*, *kuai tiao nam tok* (noodle soup darkened with raw blood), and *kuaitiao ruea*.