However in terms of what noodles are made from there are three main types of Chinese noodles:
- Wheat noodles – these can be made with or without egg
- Rice noodles
- Starch noodles
What are the best noodles for Chinese food?
- Egg Noodles Yao mein/ Chow mein Lo mein Yi mein Ramen noodles
- Rice Noodles Mai fun/ Rice vermicelli Shanghainese nian gao Ho fun Cheung Fun
- Wheat Noodles Dao xiao mian La mian
- Starch Noodles Liangpi Fensi/ Cellophane noodles
How do you make homemade Chinese noodles?
- Add flour, pinch of salt in a deep bowl. ...
- Knead the dough until your hand is clean, your bowl is clean and the dough is smooth. ...
- Cover with a wet cloth and rest for around 30 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a large floured operating board. ...
- Roll the dough into paper-thin rectangle or round wrapper, keeping remaining dough covered with flour.
Is Chinese food really fattening?
While Chinese restaurant food is bad for your waistline and blood pressure — sodium contributes to hypertension — it does offer vegetable-rich dishes and the kind of fat that's not bad for the heart. However — and this is a big however — the veggies aren't off the hook. A plate of stir-fried greens has 900 calories and 2,200 milligrams of sodium.
What is Chinese food really made of?
While Chinese-American food usually only contains the usual meats like chicken, pork, beef, and occasionally duck, in mainland China, they eat a huge variety of animals beyond this, including pigeons, quail, frogs, and rabbits. And instead of just taking a cut from these animals, it’s common for Chinese to cook and eat all parts of the animal.
What kind of noodles do they use in Chinese food?
Here are the most common noodles in Chinese cuisine:Cellophane Noodles: Also called bean threads, slippery noodles, or even bean vermicelli, cellophane noodles are made from mung bean starch. ... Egg Flour Noodles: Fresh or dried, you'll usually know these noodles by their yellow color.More items...•
What are the thick Chinese noodles called?
Shanghai noodlesAlso called cumian, which literally translates to “thick noodles,” Shanghai noodles are a chewy variety made from wheat flour and water. You'll find them in soups and stir-fries, particularly in northern China.
What is the most popular Chinese noodle?
What to eat in China? 10 Most Popular Chinese NoodlesNoodles. Migan Noodles. Yunnan. China. ... Knife-Cut Noodles (Dao xiao mian) Shanxi. China. shutterstock. ... Saang Mein. Hong Kong. China. ProjectManhattan. ... Mixian. Yunnan. China. ... Cumian. Shanghai. China. ... Mung Bean Sheets. Shandong. China. ... Lamian. CHINA. shutterstock. ... Misua. Fujian. China.More items...•
What kind of noodles are used in chow mein?
dry Asian wheat noodles ~ see what you store has, there are several different types that will work fine for chow mein. You can use lo mein noodles, chow mein noodles, or, in this case, I used Japanese ramen noodles because that's what I had. Any long straight Asian wheat noodle will work.
What kind of noodles are used in lo mein?
Lo Mein noodles are fresh yellow noodles (usually labelled "egg noodles") that are about 3mm / 1/8" thick, sold in the fridge section of grocery stores. Dried noodles - use 200g/8oz uncooked ramen noodles or other dried noodles.
What is the difference between chow mein and lo mein?
Chow mein noodles are soaked in hot water to soften them up before stir-frying. The process of stir-frying fully cooks the noodles along with the remaining ingredients. In contrast, lo mein noodles are completely cooked before getting mixed in with the meat, vegetables and sauce.
What are the best noodles for Chinese soup?
But any noodles will be fine here – fresh or dried, rice noodles, white or yellow noodles, Hokkien, Singapore noodles, wide, thin, vermicelli, ramen noodles (yup!), diet noodles (like konyaku – been there, done that), zoodles (been there too). Really. ANY noodles will be great in this broth!
What are Chinese rice noodles called?
Rice vermicelli is a part of several Asian cuisines, where it are often eaten as part of a soup dish, stir-fry, or salad. One particularly well-known, slightly thicker variety, called Guilin mǐfěn (桂林米粉), comes from the southern Chinese city of Guilin, where it is a breakfast staple.
What are thick noodles?
A thick noodle is one of any variety of noodles that are deemed to have a relatively large cross-section according to regional cuisine. Cumian, from China. Garak-guksu, from Korea. Pici, from Tuscany. Udon, from Japan.
What is the difference between chow mein and lo mein?
Chow mein noodles are soaked in hot water to soften them up before stir-frying. The process of stir-frying fully cooks the noodles along with the remaining ingredients. In contrast, lo mein noodles are completely cooked before getting mixed in with the meat, vegetables and sauce.
What are fat noodles called?
UdonUdon: Big Fat Noodles.
What are wide noodles called?
The flat, wide noodles are called chow fun. The thinnest noodles are called Amoy-style or Chinese somen. Use thinner ones in delicate soups; thicker ones hold their own in stir-fries and casseroles.
How many types of Chinese noodles are there?
There are three main types of Chinese noodles: Wheat noodles (which can be with or without egg)Rice noodlesStarch noodles
What are Chinese noodles called?
In Chinese noodles are called 面 miàn.
What are thin clear Chinese noodles called?
Thin clear Chinese noodles are called glass noodles or sometimes they are also called cellophane noodles.
What are the skinny white Chinese noodles called?
The skinny white Chinese noodles are called Guilin rice noodles or are sometimes also called rice vermicelli.
What is chow mein in Chinese?
In Chinese chow mein is 炒面 chǎomiàn which literally means "fried noodles".
You haven't lived until you've had all of these
Noodles, with the exception of zoodles (please go away), are the arguably the perfect food. This brilliant food genus, which includes everything from rigatoni to udon, banh pho to spaetzle, seems to have endless permutations to slurp, swirl, and stir-fry.
Shanghainese nian gao
Some might argue that these aren’t noodles. To them, I’d say: Who hurt you? Detractors aside, these rice cakes are made from dense rolls of pounded glutinous rice that are steamed, then sliced on a bias into thin pieces. If you’re familiar with Japanese mochi, you can probably imagine how nian gao works.
Ho fun
These noodles, made wide and tapered to maximize their compatibility with sauces and gravies, are slippery and slurpable. Thus, they’re widely popular in many Asian cuisines, popping up in Thailand as pad kee mao and in Vietnam as pho. Cantonese restaurants often feature it in chow fun, a stir-fried dish with soy sauce, beef, and bean sprouts.
Cheung fun
If you spend your weekends creepin’ on your local dim sum parlor, you know these well. Cheung fun are pillow-soft and jelly-like noodles that are made into sheets and often wrapped around a savory filling of shrimp, meat, or fried dough.
Yao mein
When these thin egg-and-wheat noodles are fresh, they’re fantastic, with a distinct springiness and heft that make them the perfect foil to wontons. Some old-school wonton noodle shops in Hong Kong make a variation on these noodles, called “jook-sing noodles,” by having a cook knead the dough by hopping on a giant bamboo stalk.
Lo mein
When I was a kid, these were the noodles that would shut me up. I’d focus all of my energy on slurping every strand, enjoying every drop of the sauce that clung to them. These chewy noodles typically have the same ingredients as yao mein; in the diaspora, their main distinguishing point is that they’re heftier.
Yi mein
Yi mein are, like instant ramen, cooked and then deep-fried into a cake by their manufacturers. They’re expensive because of their high-quality ingredients and laborious cooking process, so they’re often brought out for celebrations. You’ll often find these in a hefty, stir-fried pile at Chinese banquet halls.
History of Noodles
There is some dispute over who originally came up with the idea of mixing water and flour to create noodles. The Arabs claim to have been the first to use dried pasta, as a means of preserving flour during their forays across the desert.
Types of Noodles
Chinese noodles, known collectively as mien, fall into three main categories. The most common are wheat flour noodles, which can be made with or without eggs. Depending on the remaining ingredients, wheat noodles can be white or yellow, thin as spaghetti or thick as Fettucine, stiff or extremely elastic.
How to Enjoy Noodles
Noodles are eaten hot or cold, steamed, stir-fried, deep-fried, boiled, or served in a soup. Noodles are an excellent source of protein, low in calories, and rich in complex carbohydrates.
Thin Wonton Noodles
This is the kind of thin, springy noodle you find in wonton noodle soup. It's perfect for dishes like this Wonton Noodle Soup With Chicken and Shiitakes where the broth is light and delicate. Think chicken soups or wonton soups made with a mixture of pork and seafood.
Wide Wonton Noodles
Similar to thin wonton noodles but...thicker. I use these noodles for heartier noodle soups, like this Beef Noodle Soup, or other dishes with braised beef and heavier, oilier flavors.
How to Cook Wonton Noodles
First, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Once boiling, add in the noodles and spread them out with a set of long chopsticks or tongs. To want to stir them quite vigorously to make sure they're separated—they have a tendency to stick together.
How to Cook Hong Kong Noodles
Hong Kong noodles are ready to fry. Before cooking, open the package and loosen the noodles in a large bowl or work surface. Sometimes a few strands will be clumped up, so make sure to separate them before they go into a wok or pan.
How to Cook Lo Mein Noodles
Since the lo mein variety of noodles are thicker than wonton noodles, they usually take about 3 to 5 minutes to cook in boiling water. As with wonton noodles, they should be rinsed under cold water if you're not going to serve them immediately.
Diet
Quotes
- Whether you slurp them, gulp them down, or twirl them on your fork, everyone seems to love noodles. Nearly all cultures have at least one cherished noodle dish, from German Spaetzle (homemade noodles with egg), to Jewish Kreplachs - noodle pastries filled with beef, chicken, and spices. But only the Italians rival China for the title of the culture most devoted to noodles.
Characteristics
- Like Italian pasta, Asian noodles vary in width - they can be thick as coffee stir sticks or thin as toothpicks. When it comes to length, however, they are usually served long and uncut. This is because long noodles symbolize a long life in Chinese tradition. Noodles are commonly served at birthday celebrations, and fresh noodles are regularly placed at gravesites.
Varieties
- Chinese noodles, known collectively as mien, fall into three main categories. The most common are wheat flour noodles, which can be made with or without eggs. While today wheat flour noodles are enjoyed throughout China, they originated in the north, where wheat is a staple crop. Depending on the remaining ingredients, wheat noodles can be white or...
Composition
- Made from rice flour, water, and salt, rice noodles can also be thick or very thin, the latter almost resembling long strings of coconut. The same is true of rice sticks. There are also rice paper wrappers which come in either circular or triangular shape. Finally, cellophane noodles are clear noodles made from ground mung bean paste.
Origin
- In China, making \"hand-pulled\" noodles is an art involving holding the stretched out paste in both hands and whirling it around several times. Then the paste is laid out on a board and folded and refolded repeatedly. Eventually, the paste is transformed into long, thin, noodles. While in China it is still possible to watch vendors make hand-pulled noodles, today most noodles are made by m…
Cuisine
- Noodles are eaten hot or cold, steamed, stir-fried, deep-fried, boiled, or served in a soup. For the nutritionally-inclined, noodles are an excellent source of protein. Besides being low in calories, they are extremely high in complex carbohydrates.
Preparation
- Readers often ask me to explain the difference between lo mein and chow mein noodles. Actually, the difference between the two lies not in the type of noodles used, but in the way the two dishes are prepared. In the case of chow mein, the ingredients are stir-fried and then served over noodles that have been prepared separately. By contrast, lo mein involves tossing boiled noodles in the …