 Chinese noodles at a noodle shop inTuen Mun, Hong Kong | |
| Type | Noodles |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | China |
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 andstaple inChinese cuisine. They are an important part of most regional cuisines withinChina, and other countries with sizableoverseas Chinese populations.
Chinese noodles can be made ofwheat,buckwheat,rice,millet,maize,oats,acorns,kudzu,Siberian elm,soybeans,mung beans,yams,cassava,potatoes,sweet potatoes, andmeats such asfish andshrimp. There are over 1,200 types of noodles commonly consumed in China today,[1] with tens of thousands of noodle dish varieties prepared using these types of noodles.[2]
Chinese noodles have entered the cuisines of neighboringEast Asian countries such asKorea,Japan, andMongolia, as well as Southeast Asian countries such asMalaysia,Singapore,Indonesia,Vietnam,Cambodia,Myanmar,Laos, thePhilippines andThailand.
Nomenclature of Chinese noodles can be difficult due to the vast spectrum available in China and the many dialects of Chinese used to name them. In Mandarin,miàn (simplified Chinese:面;traditional Chinese:麵; oftentransliterated as "mien" or "mein" ) refers to noodles made fromwheat flour, whilefěn (粉) or "fun" refers to noodles made from other starches, particularlyrice flour andmung bean starch. Each noodle type can be rendered inpinyin forMandarin, but inHong Kong and neighboringGuangdong it will be known by itsCantonese pronunciation ("meen" or "mien" for wheat noodles, "fun" for non-wheat).Taiwan,Malaysia,Singapore and many otherOverseas Chinese communities inSoutheast Asia may useHokkien (Min Nan) instead (e.g. "mee" for wheat noodles, "hoon" or "hun" for non-wheat). Wheat noodles, for example, are called mian in Mandarin, mein in Cantonese, men in Japanese, mee in Thai andguksu in Korean.[3]
Sometimes, the principal ingredient used in the preparation such as wheat, buckwheat, rice, potato, corn flour, bean, soybean flour, yam flour, mung-bean starch, sweet potato, cassava, etc. may also form the basis of naming noodles.[4]
The earliest written record of noodles is from a book dated to theEastern Han period (25–220 AD).[5][6] Noodles, often made from wheat dough, became a prominent staple of food during the Han dynasty.[7] 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.[8]
During theSong dynasty (960–1279) 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" (Chinese:湯餅;pinyin:tāng bǐng), as explained by the Song dynasty scholar Huáng Cháo Yīng (黃朝英) mentions in his work "A delightful mixed discussion on various scholarly topics" (Chinese:靖康緗素雜記;pinyin:jìngkāngxiāngsùzájì, Scroll 2) that in ancient times bready foods like pasta are referred collectively as "bing" and differentiated through theircooking methods.[9]·
Up until 1992, most dried Chinese noodles in theUnited States could not be sold labelled as "noodles".[10][11] This is due to fact that many Chinese noodles are made without eggs and do not always use wheat as starch, thus resulting in theUnited States Department of Agriculture obliging manufacturers to label them as "imitation noodles" or "alimentary paste".[10]
Chinese noodles are generally made from either wheat flour, rice flour, ormung bean starch, with wheat noodles being more commonly produced and consumed with the ancient wooden noodles mold technology innorthern China and rice noodles being more typical of southern China.Egg, lye, and cereal may also be added to noodles made fromwheat flour in order to give the noodles a different color or flavor. Egg whites,arrowroot ortapioca 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 thechemical cross-linkerborax to whiten noodles and improve their texture is also quite common in East Asia.[12] 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.[8] Chinese type noodles are generally made from hard wheat flours, characterized by bright creamy white or bright yellow color and firm texture.[13]
Before the automatic noodle machine was invented in 1950s, the processing of Chinese noodles were made with four steps, including:
The dough for noodles made from wheat flour is typically made from wheat flour, salt, and water, with the addition of eggs orlye depending on the desired texture and taste of the noodles. Rice or other starch-based noodles are typically made with only the starch or rice flour and water. After the formation of a pliable dough mass, one of the six below types of mechanical processing may be applied to produce the noodles:
| 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[15] |
| Pulled | 拉 | lā | The dough is rolled into a long cylinder, which is then repeatedly stretched and folded to produce a single thin strand[16] |
| 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[17] |
| 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 orchopstick[18] |
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.
Noodles may be cooked from either their fresh (moist) or dry forms. They are generally boiled, although they may also bedeep-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 5minutes to becomeal 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.
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 westernOrecchiette |
| 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 whichramen 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 (1 mm diameter). Can be caramelized to a brown colour through extensive steaming. Similar to very finevermicelli |
| 宮麵 | gōng miàn | gung1min6 | ? | ||
| 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 whichudon was derived |
These wheat flour noodles are more chewy in texture and yellow in color either due to the addition of lye (sodium carbonate,potassium carbonate,calcium hydroxide, orpotassium hydroxide) or egg (either using only the egg white, yolk, or both). This class oflye-water noodles (Chinese:碱面／碱麵;pinyin:jiǎn miàn) has a subtle but distinctive smell and taste, described by some as being "eggy".[19]
| 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 totagliatelle |
| 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, androe, 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-based noodles can be:
These noodles are typically made only with rice and water without the addition of salt. Although unorthodox, some producers may choose to add other plant starches to modify the texture of the noodles.
| Common English name | Characters | Pinyin | Cantonese | Hokkien | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kway teow | 粿条 | gǔo tiáo | gwo2tiu4 | kóe-tiâu | Flatrice noodles |
| Ho fun, Chow fun | 沙河粉 | shā hé fěn | saa1ho4 fan2 | sa-hô-hún | Very wide, flat, rice noodles |
| 河粉 | hé fěn | ho2fan2 | hô-hún | ||
| 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 calledGuilin mífěn (桂林米粉) |
| Rice vermicelli | 米粉 | mí fěn | mai5fan2 | bí-hún | Thinrice noodles |
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 thinmung bean starch noodles, similar tovermicelli |
| 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 producinggluten |
| 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 |
| 老鼠粉 | lǎo shǔ fěn | lou5syu2 fan2 | niáu-chhú-hún | ||
| Suān là fěn | 酸辣粉 | suān là fěn | syun1 laat6 fan2 | ? | Chongqing hot & spicysweet potato starch noodles |
In China, particularly in westernInner Mongolia andShanxi province, oat (Avena nuda) flour is calledyóu miàn (莜面), and is processed into noodles or thin-walled rolls, which are consumed as staple food.[20] The process of making oat noodles relies on twisting them on a marble plate to ensure the dough will not stick on it, and turning them into strips and thin-rolls. It can be boiled or steamed, then served with different sauces to eat.[21]
The oldest archaeological evidence of noodles shows that they came from China and were made from millet, which is an indigenous crop to northern China.[6] In 2005, a team of archaeologists reported finding an earthenware bowl that contained 4000-year-old noodles at theLajia archaeological site.[22] These noodles were said to resemblelamian, a type of Chinese noodle.[22] Analyzing the huskphytoliths andstarch grains present in the sediment associated with the noodles, they were identified as millet belonging toPanicum miliaceum andSetaria italica.[22]
The following are a small portion of Chinese dishes that incorporate noodles:
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