Chinese noodles
Chinese noodles vary widely according to the region of production, ingredients, shape or width, and manner of preparation. Noodles were invented in China, and are an essential ingredient and staple in Chinese cuisine. They are an important part of most regional cuisines within China, and other countries with sizable overseas Chinese populations.
Chinese noodles can be made of wheat, buckwheat, rice, millet, maize, oats, acorns, kudzu, Siberian elm, soybeans, mung beans, seaweed, yams, cassava, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and meats such as fish and shrimp. There are over 1,200 types of noodles commonly consumed across China today, more than 2,000 different cooking methods for Chinese noodles, and tens of thousands of dish varieties prepared using these types of noodles in China.
Chinese noodles have entered the cuisines of neighboring East Asian countries such as Korea, Japan, and Mongolia, as well as Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, the Philippines and Thailand.
Nomenclature
Nomenclature for Chinese noodles can be difficult due to the vast number of noodle types available in China and the many dialects and languages used to name them. There is no single Chinese word equivalent to the Western concept of "noodles," nor is the notion of "noodles" as a unified food category recognized within Chinese cuisine.In Mandarin, miàn refers to noodles made from wheat flour, while fěn or "fun" refers to noodles made from other starches, particularly rice flour and mung bean starch. Each noodle type can be rendered in pinyin for Mandarin, but in Hong Kong and neighboring Guangdong it will be known by its Cantonese pronunciation. Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and many overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia use Hokkien . Wheat noodles, for example, are called "mian" in Mandarin, "mein" in Cantonese, "men" in Japanese, "mee" in Thai, and "myeon" in Korean.
The names of some types of noodles are based on the name of their principal ingredient.
History
The earliest written record of noodles is from a book dated to the Eastern Han period. Noodles, often made from wheat dough, became a prominent staple of food during the Han dynasty. In the Western Han dynasty, due to demand by the military, it was necessary for the government to implement food processing technologies that would make the food storage easier and more affordable. During this time, "Laomian" emerged, it was made with starch-rich buckwheat, millet and pea flours with lower water content, making it easier to store and transport.During the Song dynasty noodle shops were very popular in the cities, and remained open all night. During the earlier dynastic periods Chinese wheat noodles were known as "soup cake", as explained by the Song dynasty scholar Huáng Cháo Yīng mentions in his work "A delightful mixed discussion on various scholarly topics" that in ancient times bready foods like pasta are referred collectively as "bing" and differentiated through their cooking methods.·
Up until 1992, most dried Chinese noodles in the United States could not be sold labelled as "noodles". This is due to fact that many Chinese noodles are made without eggs and do not always use wheat as starch, thus resulting in the United States Department of Agriculture obliging manufacturers to label them as "imitation noodles" or "alimentary paste".
Production
Chinese noodles are generally made from either wheat flour, rice flour, or mung bean starch, with wheat noodles being more commonly produced and consumed with the ancient wooden noodles mold technology in northern China and rice noodles being more typical of southern China. Egg, lye, and cereal may also be added to noodles made from wheat flour in order to give the noodles a different color or flavor. Egg whites, arrowroot or tapioca starch are sometimes added to the flour mixture in low quantities to change the texture and tenderness of the noodles' strands. Although illegal, the practice of adding the chemical cross-linker borax to whiten noodles and improve their texture is also quite common in East Asia. In general, the Chinese noodles cooking method involves making a dough with flour, salt, and water; mixing the dough by hand to form bar shapes; bending the bars for proofing; pulling the bars into strips; dropping the strips into a pot with boiling water; and removing the noodles when finished cooking. Chinese type noodles are generally made from hard wheat flours, characterized by bright creamy white or bright yellow color and firm texture.Before the automatic noodle machine was invented in 1950s, the processing of Chinese noodles were made with four steps, including:
- Fresh – The noodles are often consumed within 24 hours of manufacture due to quick discoloration. Their shelf life can be extended to 3–5 days if stored under refrigeration;
- Dried – Fresh noodle strands are dried by sunlight or in a controlled chamber;
- Boiled – Fresh noodle strands are either parboiled or fully cooked. After parboiling, Chinese noodles are rinsed in cold water, drained and covered with 1–2% vegetable oil to prevent sticking;
- Steamed – Fresh alkaline noodle strands are steamed in a steamer and softened with water through rinsing.
| English | Chinese | Pinyin | Process |
| Cut | 切 | qiē | The dough is rolled out into a flat sheet, folded, and then cut into noodles of a desired width |
| Extruded | 挤压 | jǐ yā | The dough is placed into a mechanical press with holes through which the dough is forced to form strands of noodles |
| Peeled | 削 | xiāo | A firm dough is mixed and formed into a long loaf. Strips of dough are then quickly sliced or peeled off the loaf directly into boiling water |
| Pulled | 拉 | lā | The dough is rolled into a long cylinder, which is then repeatedly stretched and folded to produce a single thin strand |
| Kneaded | 揉 | róu | A ball of dough is lightly rolled on a flat surface or kneaded with one's hands until it is formed into the desired shape |
| Flicked | 柭 | bó | A soft dough is prepared, placed in a bowl, strips of dough are pulled and flicked directly into boiling water using a flexible bamboo stick or chopstick |
While cut and extruded noodles can be dried to create a shelf-stable product to be eaten months after production, most peeled, pulled and kneaded noodles are consumed shortly after they are produced.
Cooking
Noodles may be cooked from either their fresh or dry forms. They are generally boiled, although they may also be deep-fried in oil until crispy. Boiled noodles may then be stir fried, served with sauce or other accompaniments, or served in soup, often with meat and other ingredients. Certain rice-noodles are made directly from steaming the raw rice slurry and are only consumed fresh.Unlike many Western noodles and pastas, Chinese noodles made from wheat flour are usually made from salted dough, and therefore do not require the addition of salt to the liquid in which they are boiled. Chinese noodles also cook very quickly, generally requiring less than 5 minutes to become al dente and some taking less than a minute to finish cooking, with thinner noodles requiring less time to cook. Chinese noodles made from rice or mung bean starch do not generally contain salt.
Types
Wheat
These noodles are made only with wheat flour and water. If the intended product is dried noodles, salt is almost always added to the recipe.| Common English name | Characters | Pinyin | Cantonese | Hokkien | Description |
| Cat's ear | 貓耳朵 | māo ěr duǒ | maau1 ji5do2 | ? | Looks like a cat's ear; similar to western Orecchiette |
| Cold noodles | 凉面 涼麵 | liáng miàn | loeng4min6 | ? | Served cold |
| Knife-cut noodles | 刀削面 刀削麵 | dāo xiāo miàn | dou1soek3min6 | ? | Relatively short flat noodle peeled by knife from a firm slab of dough |
| Lamian | 拉麵 | lā miàn | laai1min6 | la-mī | Hand-pulled noodles from which ramen was derived |
| Yaka mein | 一個麵 一家麵 | yī gè miàn; yījiā miàn | jat1go3 min6; jat1gaa1 min6 | ? | North American Chinese style wheat noodles similar to spaghetti; sold in Canada and the United States |
| Lo mein | 捞面 撈麵 | lāo miàn | laau4min6; lou1 min6 | lo mi | Egg noodles that are stir fried with sliced vegetables, meats or other seasonings |
| Misua | 面线 麵線 | miàn xiàn | min6sin3 | mī-sòaⁿ | Thin, salted wheat noodles. Can be caramelized to a brown colour through extensive steaming. Similar to very fine vermicelli |
| Misua | 宮麵 | gōng miàn | gung1min6 | ? | Thin, salted wheat noodles. Can be caramelized to a brown colour through extensive steaming. Similar to very fine vermicelli |
| Saang mein | 生面 生麵 | shēng miàn | sang1min6 | senn mī | Soapy texture |
| Thick noodles | 粗面 粗麵 | cū miàn | cou1min6 | chho͘-mī | Thick wheat flour noodles, from which udon was derived |
Lye-water or egg
These wheat flour noodles are more chewy in texture and yellow in color either due to the addition of lye or egg. This class of lye-water noodles has a subtle but distinctive smell and taste, described by some as being "eggy".| Common English name | Characters | Pinyin | Cantonese | Hokkien | Description |
| Oil noodles | 油面 油麵 | yóu miàn | jau4min6 | iû-mī | Made of wheat flour and egg or lye-water; often comes pre-cooked. |
| Thin noodles | 幼面 幼麵 | yòu miàn | jau3min6 | iù-mī | Thin lye-water noodles; one of the most common Cantonese noodles |
| Mee pok | 麵薄 | miàn báo | min6bok6 | mī-po̍k | Flat egg or lye-water noodles. Similar to tagliatelle |
| Yi mein | 伊麵 伊府麵 | yī miàn; yī fǔ miàn | ji1min6; ji1fu2 min6 | i-mī i-hú-mī | Fried, chewy noodles made from wheat flour and egg or lye-water |
| Shrimp [roe noodles] | 蝦子麵 | xiā zǐ miàn | haa1zi2 min6 | hê-tsí-mī | Made of wheat flour, lye-water, and roe, which show up as black spots |
| Jook-sing noodles | 竹昇麵 | zhú shēng miàn | zuk1 sing1 min6 | tik-sing-mī | A rare type of Cantonese noodle in which the dough is tenderized with a large bamboo log |
Rice
Rice-based noodles can be:- Extruded from a paste and steamed into strands of noodles
- Steamed from a slurry into sheets and then sliced into strands
| Common English name | Characters | Pinyin | Cantonese | Hokkien | Description |
| Kway teow | 粿条 | gǔo tiáo | gwo2tiu4 | kóe-tiâu | Flat rice noodles |
| Ho fun, Chow fun | 沙河粉 | shā hé fěn | saa1ho4 fan2 | sa-hô-hún | Very wide, flat, rice noodles |
| Ho fun, Chow fun | 河粉 | hé fěn | ho2fan2 | hô-hún | Very wide, flat, rice noodles |
| Lai fun | 瀨粉 酹粉 | lài fěn | laai6 fan2 | luā-hún | Thick round semi-transparent noodle made from sticky rice |
| Mixian or Mai sin | 米線 米线 | mǐ xiàn | mai5sin3 | bee sua | Rice noodles also called Guilin mífěn |
| Rice vermicelli | 米粉 | mí fěn | mai5fan2 | bí-hún | Thin rice noodles |
Starch
These noodles are made using various plant starches. Mung bean starch noodles will often be cut with tapioca starch to make them more chewy and reduce production costs.| Common English name | Characters | Pinyin | Cantonese | Hokkien | Description |
| Winter noodles | 冬粉 | dōng fěn | dung1fan2 | tang-hún | Very thin mung bean starch noodles, similar to vermicelli |
| Bean threads | 粉絲 | fěn sī | fan2si1 | ? | Thin cellophane-like noodles |
| Mung bean sheets | 粉皮 | fěn pí | fan2pei4 | hún-phê | Wide, clear noodles made from mung bean starch |
| Liang pi | 凉皮 | líang pí | loeng4pei4 | ? | Translucent noodles made from wheat starch left from producing gluten |
| Silver needle noodles | 銀針粉 | yín zhēn fěn | ngan4 zam1fan2 | ? | Spindle-shaped wheat starch noodles, ca. 5 cm in length and 3–5 mm in diameter |
| Silver needle noodles | 老鼠粉 | lǎo shǔ fěn | lou5syu2 fan2 | niáu-chhú-hún | Spindle-shaped wheat starch noodles, ca. 5 cm in length and 3–5 mm in diameter |
| Suān là fěn | 酸辣粉 | suān là fěn | syun1 laat6 fan2 | ? | Chongqing hot & spicy sweet potato starch noodles |