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 and staple in Chinese cuisine. They are an important part of most regional cuisines within China, and other countries with sizable overseas Chinese populations.
Chinese noodles can be made of wheat, buckwheat, rice, millet, maize, oats, acorns, kudzu, Siberian elm, soybeans, mung beans, seaweed, yams, cassava, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and meats such as fish and shrimp. There are over 1,200 types of noodles commonly consumed across China today, more than 2,000 different cooking methods for Chinese noodles, and tens of thousands of dish varieties prepared using these types of noodles in China.
Chinese noodles have entered the cuisines of neighboring East Asian countries such as Korea, Japan, and Mongolia, as well as Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, the Philippines and Thailand.
Nomenclature
Nomenclature for Chinese noodles can be difficult due to the vast number of noodle types available in China and the many dialects and languages used to name them. There is no single Chinese word equivalent to the Western concept of "noodles," nor is the notion of "noodles" as a unified food category recognized within Chinese cuisine.
In Mandarin, miàn (; often transliterated as "mien" or "mein" ) refers to noodles made from wheat flour, while fěn () or "fun" refers to noodles made from other starches, particularly rice flour and mung bean starch. Each noodle type can be rendered in pinyin for Mandarin, but in Hong Kong and neighboring Guangdong it will be known by its Cantonese pronunciation ("meen" or "mien" for wheat noodles, "fun" for non-wheat). Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and many overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia use Hokkien (Min Nan) (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, and "myeon" in Korean.
The names of some types of noodles are based on the name of their principal ingredient (such as wheat, buckwheat, rice, potato, corn flour, bean or soybean flour, yam flour, mung-bean starch, sweet potato, or cassava).
History
The earliest written record of noodles is from a book dated to the Eastern Han period (25–220 AD). Noodles, often made from wheat dough, became a prominent staple of food during the Han dynasty. 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.
Chinese noodles have had far reaching influences beyond China's borders. Food historian Gil Marks documented Chinese noodle-making traditions spread along the Silk Road to Central Asia and had reached Persia by the fourth or fifth century. In Persia, they were known as laksha which is the Farsi word for "slippery". The food was later spread westwards to Sicily and Spain through Arab influence, where noodles were known as itriya. From Sicily, it subsequently spread to mainland Italy sometime after the tenth century.
During the Song 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" (), 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" (, Scroll 2) that in ancient times bready foods like pasta are referred collectively as "bing" and differentiated through their cooking methods.·
Up until 1992, most dried Chinese noodles in the United States could not be sold labelled as "noodles". This is due to fact that many Chinese noodles are made without eggs and do not always use wheat as starch, thus resulting in the United States Department of Agriculture obliging manufacturers to label them as "imitation noodles" or "alimentary paste".
Production Chinese noodles are generally made from either wheat flour, rice flour, or mung bean starch, with wheat noodles being more commonly produced and consumed with the ancient wooden noodles mold technology in northern China and rice noodles being more typical of southern China. Egg, lye, and cereal may also be added to noodles made from wheat flour in order to give the noodles a different color or flavor. Egg whites, arrowroot or tapioca 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 the chemical cross-linker borax to whiten noodles and improve their texture is also quite common in East Asia. 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. Chinese type noodles are generally made from hard wheat flours, characterized by bright creamy white or bright yellow color and firm texture.
Before the automatic noodle machine was invented in 1950s, the processing of Chinese noodles were made with four steps, including: Fresh – The noodles are often consumed within 24 hours of manufacture due to quick discoloration. Their shelf life can be extended to 3–5 days if stored under refrigeration; Dried – Fresh noodle strands are dried by sunlight or in a controlled chamber; Boiled – Fresh noodle strands are either parboiled or fully cooked. After parboiling, Chinese noodles are rinsed in cold water, drained and covered with 1–2% vegetable oil to prevent sticking; Steamed – Fresh alkaline noodle strands are steamed in a steamer and softened with water through rinsing.
The dough for noodles made from wheat flour is typically made from wheat flour, salt, and water, with the addition of eggs or lye 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:
EnglishChinesePinyinProcessCut切qiēThe dough is rolled out into a flat sheet, folded, and then cut into noodles of a desired widthExtruded挤压jǐ yāThe dough is placed into a mechanical press with holes through which the dough is forced to form strands of noodlesPeeled削xiāoA 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 waterPulled拉lāThe dough is rolled into a long cylinder, which is then repeatedly stretched and folded to produce a single thin strandKneaded揉róuA ball of dough is lightly rolled on a flat surface or kneaded with one's hands until it is formed into the desired shapeFlicked柭bóA soft dough is prepared, placed in a bowl, strips of dough are pulled and flicked directly into boiling water using a flexible bamboo stick or chopstick
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.
Cooking
Noodles may be cooked from either their fresh (moist) or dry forms. They are generally boiled, although they may also be deep-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 5 minutes to become al 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.
Types
Wheat
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 western Orecchiette 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 which ramen 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 fine vermicelli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 which udon was derived
Lye-water or egg 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, or potassium hydroxide) or egg (either using only the egg white, yolk, or both). This class of lye-water noodles () has a subtle but distinctive smell and taste, described by some as being "eggy".
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 to tagliatelle 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, and roe, 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 Rice-based noodles can be: Extruded from a paste and steamed into strands of noodles Steamed from a slurry into sheets and then sliced into strands 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 Flat rice 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 called Guilin mífěn (桂林米粉) Rice vermicelli 米粉 mí fěn mai5fan2 bí-hún Thin rice noodlesSanxiang noodle三乡濑粉Thick glutinous rice noodles
Starch