Choosing the best rice stick noodles involves checking for color and breakage, and avoiding brands with bad rice. They come in different widths and can be difficult to separate, but diced noodles are easier for individual portions. They are not the same as cellophane or harusame noodles.
Rice stick noodles are thin, dry Asian noodles made from rice flour. They are also known as rice sticks, rice vermicelli, mai fun, mifen, kway teow, rice flour noodles, bun, and bihon pancit, among many other names. Choosing the best rice noodles is mostly a matter of checking their color and how many of them appear to be broken. Additional factors are how many servings you want to make at one time, as well as whether you’ve tried plain rice from the same manufacturer.
The noodles should be in relatively good shape. While a little breakage is to be expected in any noodle package, most rice noodles should be whole. If many of the noodles are broken in half or in multiple places, that’s an indication that something was crushed or dropped on the package during shipping. Inspect bags like these to make sure the seal isn’t broken. If so, dirt and insects may have gotten inside.
The color of the noodles should be white to off-white and the wider noodles will be slightly translucent. You won’t be able to see through them, but they won’t appear completely opaque like wheat noodles. The noodles should be a uniform color with no different flecks or shades on the same bunch of noodles. Avoid rice sticks made by brands whose rice you don’t like. Chances are their rice noodles don’t taste good either.
Rice stick noodles come in different widths ranging from thin, round strands to flatter, wider strips. The noodles usually come in bunches where the noodles are intertwined and difficult to separate from each other, although some markets sell diced and rice stick-cut noodles that are arranged more like noodles. These are easier for one person to separate into individual portions because cluster noodles can be difficult to divide without causing the pieces to break and scatter.
Keep in mind the semi-tangled nature of most rice noodles when shopping for some. If you’re buying food just for yourself, separate noodles might be a better choice. While overall they’re shorter than traditional bundle noodles, you won’t have to deal with neatly untangling and breaking the bundles to get a single serving. Of course this won’t be a problem if you’re cooking for a large group of people and planning to use the whole package at once.
Rice noodles look very similar to cellophane noodles, which are made from green beans. They look a lot like harusame, which is a type of Japanese noodle made from plant starches like sweet potato. The final cooked product will be different from the rice noodles, however, double check the item name on the packaging.
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