But first, what are rice noodles anyway?
The two ingredients that are used to make all varieties of dried rice noodles are rice flour and water. To make fresh rice noodles more robust and extend their shelf life, additional starches and additives are added.
Rice noodles are not chewy and contain no gluten, unlike pasta or wheat noodles. Because they can turn from cooked to mush much faster due to their tenderness, they are also more difficult to work with. (Al dente is just undercooked; it’s not what we strive for in rice noodles ).
1. Do not boil dried noodles. Soak them.
To make noodle soups or stir-fries, all dried noodles just need to be soaked until completely rehydrated.
We prefer to soak rice noodles instead of boiling them because they can easily become overcooked. After soaking, which enables the noodles to hydrate uniformly, the heat from the pan cooks the noodles by utilizing the water that the noodles already contain. This minimizes the possibility of overcooking and produces internal cooking that is uniform.
Using the following guidelines as a guide, soak them in room temperature water (note that times may differ between brands).
- Rice vermicelli: 5-15 minutes, depending on the brand. While Erawant takes up to 15 minutes, Wai Wai brand is smaller and only takes five.
- Small size: 20-30 minutes.
- Medium size: 50-60 minutes
- Large size: 90 minutes to 2 hours
- Since they are typically used to replace fresh rice noodles, the XL size is a bit of an exception. To soak them, use hot, just off the boil water, and then drain and rinse under cold water. By now, these should be partially cooked and prepared to be placed in the pan.
When you pick up the noodles, they should fall to the ground entirely and not defy gravity. They’re not ready if they’re still attempting to maintain their original shape.
#1: Emergency Noodle Soak
I don’t even need to set a timer because it takes so long for them to over soak in room temperature water. However, if you’re pressed for time, soaking in warm water will speed up the process. However, they over-soak more quickly in warmer water, making the noodles too soft, so be sure to check them frequently.
There is an urgent fix if you completely forgot to soak but you really need the noodles right away. To stop the cooking process, use hot water—I mean, off-the-boil—to soak the large, medium, and small sizes for four, three, and two minutes, respectively. Then, immediately drain and rinse them in cold water. With the vermicelli, I wouldn’t take a chance, but they don’t take long either.
