Cellophane noodles


Cellophane noodles, or fensi, sometimes called glass noodles, are a type of transparent noodle made from starch and water.
They are generally sold in dried form, soaked to reconstitute, then used in soups, stir-fried dishes, or spring rolls. They are called "cellophane noodles" or "glass noodles" because of their cellophane- or glass-like transparency when cooked.
Cellophane noodles should not be confused with rice vermicelli, which are made from rice and are white in color rather than clear.

Varieties

Cellophane noodles are made from a variety of starches. In China, cellophane noodles are usually made of mung bean starch. Chinese varieties made from mung bean starch are called Chinese vermicelli, bean threads, or bean thread noodles. Thicker Korean varieties made with sweet potato starch are called sweet potato noodles or dangmyeon.
Cellophane noodles are available in various thicknesses. Wide, flat cellophane noodle sheets called mung bean sheets are also produced in China. In Korea, napjak-dangmyeon refers to flat sweet potato noodles.

Production

In China, the primary site of production of cellophane noodles is the town of Zhangxing, in Zhaoyuan, Shandong province. However, historically the noodles were shipped through the port of Longkou, and thus the noodles are known and marketed as Longkou fensi.

Use

East Asia

China

In Chinese, the most commonly used names are fěnsī and dōngfěn. They are also marketed under the name saifun, the Cantonese pronunciation of the Mandarin xìfěn, though the name fánsī is the term most often used in Cantonese.
In China, cellophane noodles are a popular ingredient used in stir fries, soups, and particularly hot pots. They can also be used as an ingredient in fillings for a variety of Chinese jiaozi and bing, especially in vegetarian versions of these dishes. Thicker cellophane noodles are also commonly used to imitate the appearance and texture of shark's fin in vegetarian soups. Thicker varieties, most popular in China's northeast, are used in stir fries as well as cold salad-like dishes. A popular soup using the ingredient is fried tofu with thin noodles. A popular Sichuan dish called ants climbing a tree consists of stewed cellophane noodles with a spicy ground pork meat sauce.
In Tibetan cuisine of Tibet Autonomous Region, glass noodles are called phing or fing and are used in soup, pork curry or with mushrooms.

Japan

In Japanese cuisine, they are called harusame, literally "spring rain". Unlike Chinese glass noodles, they are usually made from potato starch. They are commonly used to make salads, or as an ingredient in hot pot dishes. They are also often used to make Japanese adaptations of Chinese and Korean dishes. Shirataki noodles are translucent, traditional Japanese noodles made from the konjac yam and sometimes tofu.

Korea

In Korean cuisine, glass noodles are usually made from sweet potato starch and are called dangmyeon. They are commonly stir-fried in sesame oil with beef and vegetables, and flavoured with soy and sugar, in a popular dish called japchae. They are usually thick, and are a brownish-gray color when in their uncooked form.

South Asia

India

In India and Pakistan, glass noodles are called falooda, and are served on top of kulfi. They are usually made from arrowroot starch using a traditional technique. The noodles are flavorless so they provide a nice contrast with the sweet kulfi. Kulfi and falooda can be bought from numerous food stalls throughout Pakistan and northern parts of India.

Southeast Asia

Indonesia

In Indonesian cuisine, they are called soun or suun.

Malaysia

In Malaysia they are known as tanghoon. They are sometimes confused with bihun which are rice vermicelli. Sometimes also known as suhun or suhoon.

Philippines

In Filipino cuisine, the noodles are called a similar name: sotanghon because of the popular dish of the same name made from them using chicken and wood ears. They are also confused with rice vermicelli, which is called bihon in the Philippines.

Thailand

In Thai cuisine, glass noodles are called wun sen. They are commonly mixed with pork and shrimp in a spicy salad called yam wun sen, or stir-fried as phat wun sen.

Vietnam

In Vietnamese cuisine, there are two varieties of cellophane noodles. The first, called bún tàu or bún tào, are made from mung bean starch, and were introduced by Chinese immigrants. The second, called miến or miến dong, are made from canna, and were developed in Vietnam. These cellophane noodles are a main ingredient in the dishes: miến gà, miến lươn, miến măng vịt, and miến cua. These cellophane noodles are sometimes confused with rice vermicelli and arrowroot starch noodles.

Oceania

Samoa

Glass noodles were introduced to Samoa by Cantonese agricultural workers in the early 1900s where they became known as "lialia", a Samoan word meaning "to twirl", after the method of twirling the noodles around chopsticks when eating. A popular dish called sapasui is common fare at social gatherings. Sapasui, a soupy dish of boiled glass noodles mixed with braised pork, beef, or chicken and chopped vegetables, is akin to Hawaiian "long rice".

North America

United States

In Hawaii, where cuisine is heavily influenced by Asian cultures, cellophane noodles are known locally as long rice, supposedly because the process of making the noodles involves extruding the starch through a potato ricer. They are used most often in chicken long rice, a dish of cellophane noodles in chicken broth that is often served at luaus.

Health concerns

In 2004, a number of companies producing Longkou cellophane noodles produced in Yantai, Shandong were discovered to be adulterated, with unscrupulous companies making noodles from cornstarch instead of green beans in order to reduce costs; the companies, to make the cornstarch transparent, were adding sodium formaldehyde sulfoxylate and lead-based whiteners to their noodles.
In December 2010, Czech food inspection authorities again inspected Chinese cellophane noodles, this time determining that of aluminium had been used in the production of the noodles. Above is an illegal amount for noodles in Czech and EU markets No 669/2009 and its amendments.