A bowl of pho, made with white rice noodles, sometimes called rice noodles.
Rice noodles are not a type of rice, but rather a type of Asian noodles made from rice or rice flour, and often called rice sticks. Sold dry, this popular pasta cooks very quickly. The noodles are thin and translucent and should not be confused with another type of noodle called cellophane noodles, made from mung bean starch. Rice noodles come in many different forms (twisted, grated, breaded, and scrambled) and are commonly used in most types of Asian cuisine, including Chinese, Indonesian, Filipino, Thai, and Vietnamese.
Rice noodles are a thin variety of noodles made from rice or rice flour.
Called mi fen, mee fun, or mei fun in a Chinese restaurant or grocery store, rice noodles are also called mai fun in Japanese and sen mee in Thai cuisine. Thin rice noodles are often available in packaged dry form and can usually be found in supermarkets in many countries around the world. Asian food specialty markets may sell these noodles fresh in addition to the dry package. In addition to being used in Asian cuisine, this noodle can also replace thin egg noodles in non-Asian dishes, such as chicken soup.
Along with vegetables, rice noodles are often added to fragrant Southeast Asian soups.
Rice sticks, as they are often called, are often added to soups, salads, entrees, and stir-fries. Cooks soak dried rice noodles in warm water to soften them for several minutes before adding them to the dish to finish the cooking process. Dried rice noodles can be fried without soaking in water, to add crunch to Chinese chicken salad or to garnish chicken chow mein and other dishes.
Popular in most Asian countries, rice sticks go well with a variety of ingredients associated with the types of cuisines native to each country and can be substituted for rice in most rice dishes. Vietnamese cooks often combine rice noodles with fried pork, snails, fried eggs, crab soup, and chicken. A Chinese recipe might combine these noodles with chives, soy sauce, bean sprouts, and chicken. Mee siam is a spicy Malaysian dish with shrimp, chicken, shallots, red peppers, garlic and chives. The word for rice noodles in India is sevai, and it is usually served with any meal, including breakfast.