Food Encyclopedia

Asian noodles

Though some Asian-style noodles are wheat-based, many others are made from ingredients such as rice flour, potato flour, buckwheat flour, cornstarch and bean, yam or soybean starch. Among the more popular are China's cellophane noodles (made from mung-bean starch), egg noodles (usually wheat-based) and rice noodles, and Japan's (made with soybean, rice or potato flour), (wheat-based egg noodles) and soba (which contain buckwheat flour). Other Asian countries, including Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, have their own versions of the venerable noodle. Asian noodles can be purchased fresh and dried in Asian markets; some dried varieties can be found in supermarkets. Throughout Asian cultures noodles are eaten hot and cold. They can be cooked in a variety of ways including steaming, stir-frying and deep-frying.