For all of your favorite soup, stir-fry, and cold noodle salad recipes, learn how to prepare rice noodles!
Almost all Asian cuisines depend on the indispensable and delectable rice noodles, which are made with only two simple ingredients: water and rice flour.
I love rice noodles for their slightly chewy, springy texture. Additionally, they have a milder flavor than wheat-based noodles.
Like cold rice noodle salad with peanut lime dressing, cold rice noodle salads frequently have a salty, umami dressing with a kick of citrus and vinegar. We all enjoy rice noodle stir-fries like Pad See Ew and Drunken Noodles, which feature long, thin rice noodles.
Cooking rice noodles differs slightly from cooking other pasta varieties. Dried rice noodles are simply soaked in hot water to hydrate rather than being put through a boiling process. The hydrated noodles are then briefly cooked once more in a very hot wok or skillet if they are being used in a stir-fry.
Knowing how long to soak rice noodles before cooking is challenging. Read on for detailed instructions on how to prepare rice noodles for all of your favorite recipes.
A New Approach for Homemade Pasta
Making homemade pasta is something I enjoy doing because the steps involved in making the dough, shaping it, rolling it out, cutting it, cooking it, and adding sauce are not as difficult as they appear to be. They have a different texture from dried pasta, though both are still delicious. However, I’ve always made pasta by making a dough, shaping that dough, and then boiling the pasta. Making a batter was a novel strategy I tried for the first time, and I also made gluten-free noodles for the first time. If you’re curious, the only distinction between a batter and a dough is how moist it is. A dough is more dry and can be molded. If you attempted to shape a wet batter, it would simply run through your fingers. Consequently, you must cook the batter before using it to make noodles. Making homemade rice noodles is different from making homemade pasta, but the end result is just as satisfying. Since steaming is the method we’re going to use to get springy, soft, noodles, to the microwave we go!
Looking for Homemade Pasta Recipes? Try one of these!
Making rice noodles in the microwave is really easy, but also a little time consuming. Let’s start with the ingredients. The main ingredient is rice flour (not glutenous rice flour)- I’ve never tried it with brown rice flour, so I don’t know that it would work well. You will also need tapioca flour, which is sometimes also called tapioca starch. That will give your noodles a little bounce, and stop them from becoming brittle. The only other ingredients you need are salt, water, and a little vegetable oil to prevent your noodles from sticking.
Combine the ingredients and whisk them together to create a batter before making your noodles. You’re going to use two microwave-safe plates to cook the noodles by creating a small steam pocket in the microwave. You could also complete this process in a steamer, but I thought using a microwave would be easier. Since you’ll be putting things in and taking things out of the microwave frequently for a while, I advise moving it to a good workspace. Because of this, placing your microwave on your counter for this process will make your life better if it is high up like mine is.
Put a small amount of batter on the plate’s bottom. You only need enough to barely cover the plate’s bottom and barely reach the sides. After placing it in the microwave, use the second plate to cover it. After 50 seconds, remove the plates carefully because they will be hot. Once they’re a little cooler, roll the noodles up and off the plate after brushing them with vegetable oil to prevent sticking. You may need to loosen the edges first. If the noodles are dry, brittle, and papery, you either need to add more batter, cook them a little longer, or check to see if the two plates aren’t gaping. Take a moment to make sure they’re going well. The noodle is probably undercooked if it breaks as it is being removed from the plate. You can either try a little less batter or cooking it for a little longer.
You do not need to cook these noodles any further, but you can add them to a soup or stir-fry if you like. Once all your batter is used, you can cut the noodles to the size you are looking for, and then use them in whatever recipe you like.
4 Chow Fun and Mi Xian rice noodles
I did inform you that there are numerous varieties of noodles.
Here are some more.
Chow fun rice noodles are wide (up to two inches wide), flat, and have a soft, full-bodied chew. The Cantonese use them by the ton.
MiXian rice noodles can be round or slightly flat and have an even fuller-bodied, soft chew. They are medium-thin and are usually cut into 12″ lengths.
They have a velvety texture, are slick and chewy, but if you soak them in hot broth or water for a long time, they will start to fall apart.
Ideally, you can prepare and consume them right away after they are made.
While MiXian rice noodles are excellent in soups and stir-fries, Chow fun rice noodles go well with rich sauces. It’s best to boil or steam the noodles if they aren’t as fresh as you’d like.
Noodles that aren’t fresh can be steamed or briefly boiled, but they’re at their best when eaten right away.
When stir-fried with rich sauces like soy that have been thickened with cornstarch, chow fun is excellent. Mixian is used in stir-fries and spicy soups.
FAQ
What is the best way to cook rice noodles?
- Boil a pot of water, then turn off the heat.
- Add the rice noodles to the pot or cover the noodles completely in a large bowl with the hot, boiling water.
- Swish the noodles around briefly to separate.
- Noodles should be soaked for six to ten minutes to make them tender but chewy.
- Drain the noodles.
Do you have to soak rice noodles before cooking?
Prior to stir-frying, dried noodles must be soaked in boiling water to soften them. Since they will cook while frying, fresh rice noodles, which are available at Asian grocery stores, don’t need to be soaked before being added to a stir fry.
Can I just boil rice noodles?
Boil. Rice noodles can be boiled in the same way as wheat pasta, but be prepared to remove them from the water immediately afterward. Even thicker flat rice noodles can be prepared quickly. No matter how thick or thin the noodles are, most of our sources advised soaking and rinsing them before boiling.
How do you soften rice noodles in the microwave?
These noodles may become hard and challenging to handle after sitting for a day or so. Simply wrap them in plastic wrap and heat them in the microwave for 15 to 30 seconds to warm and soften them.
