Glass noodle salad is a cold dish made with starch-based pasta, vegetables, seafood, or white meat, and a spicy or mild dressing. It is a popular dish in Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Thai cuisines. The noodles are translucent and springy when cooked and are commonly used in Asian soups, stir-fries, and spring rolls. To make the salad, the noodles are soaked in hot water, cut, and cooked in boiling water before being mixed with vegetables and proteins. The dressing is added just before serving. Different cultures and manufacturers use different types of starch and protein sources, and the seasoning varies according to individual taste.
A glass noodle salad is a cold dish made with a specific type of starch-based pasta, vegetables, seafood, or white meat, and a spicy or mild dressing. These noodles are believed to have originated in China, but wun sen yam, a spicy Thai salad made with glass noodles, pork, and shrimp, is one of the more notable versions of the salad. Chinese, Japanese, and Vietnamese cuisines also have their own glass noodle salads, and Asian-inspired cuisines found in Western countries can create hybrid versions of this salad by combining noodles with flavors from multiple Asian countries.
Most glass noodles are made with mung bean starch, but some cultures and manufacturers prefer to use potato, cassava, sweet potato, or sweet potato starch. Manufacturers sell glass noodles in a dry form, but the noodles take on a highly springy quality when cooked. These noodles are also translucent when dipped or cooked in water, hence the term “glass noodles”. For the same reason, these noodles are also called cellophane noodles, bean string noodles and crystal noodles. In addition to salads, glass noodles are commonly used in Asian soups, stir-fries, and spring rolls.
To make a glass noodle salad, the cook begins by soaking cellophane noodles in hot water until they begin to become soft and translucent. Subsequently, the noodles are cut into the desired length and cooked in boiling water for a few more minutes. Once they become springy, the noodles are removed from the boiling water and plunged into cold water. All the water is drained and the noodles are set aside until the rest of the salad is prepared.
Next all the vegetables and proteins used for the salad are prepared. Yam wun sen, probably the most common type of glass noodle salad, traditionally includes mushrooms and thinly sliced tomato, onion and celery. Ground pork and shrimp are the more traditional sources of protein found in this type of glass noodle salad. The pork and prawns are cooked, cooled and cut into thin pieces, and the vegetables are also cleaned and cut. All the ingredients are then tossed into the noodles and set aside while the sauce is made.
The dressing is prepared last. It is important to add the sauce at the end, just before serving, as the noodles will become very heavy and difficult to chew if left in the liquid for an extended period of time. The standard yam wun sen sauce is relatively spicy and made with fish sauce, lime juice, coriander and red chillies. Once mixed, the dressing is poured over the rest of the salad ingredients and the entire glass noodle salad is tossed again to diffuse the flavors.
Other versions of glass noodle salad may use other meats, sauces, or types of cellophane noodles. The standard round noodle made with the starch of the mung bean is common to Thai salad, but thicker versions are used in northeastern China. Japanese cuisine usually uses glass noodles made from potato starch, and Vietnamese cuisine uses mung bean or cane starch-based versions. Other protein sources, such as chicken or tuna, can be used in place of pork and shrimp, but red meat is very rare. The seasoning also varies according to culture and individual taste, with some versions remaining spicy while others are milder.
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