Cellophane noodles, or fensi (), sometimes called glass noodles, are a type of transparent

noodle Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures (for example, Chinese noodles, Filipino noodles, In ...

made from starch (such as mung bean starch,

potato starch Potato starch is starch extracted from potatoes. The cells of the root tubers of the potato plant contain leucoplasts (starch grains). To extract the starch, the potatoes are crushed, and the starch grains are released from the destroyed cells. T ...

, sweet potato starch,

tapioca Tapioca (; ) is a starch extracted from the storage roots of the cassava plant (''Manihot esculenta,'' also known as manioc), a species native to the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, but whose use is now spread throughout South America ...

, or canna starch) and water. A stabilizer such as

chitosan Chitosan is a linear polysaccharide composed of randomly distributed β-(1→4)-linked D-glucosamine (deacetylated unit) and ''N''-acetyl-D-glucosamine (acetylated unit). It is made by treating the chitin shells of shrimp and other crustacean ...

(or alum, illegal in some jurisdictions) may also be used. They are generally sold in dried form, soaked to reconstitute, then used in soups, stir-fried dishes, or

spring roll Spring rolls are rolled appetizers or dim sum commonly found in Chinese and other Southeast Asian cuisines. The kind of wrapper, fillings, and cooking technique used, as well as the name, vary considerably within this large area, depending o ...

s. They are called "cellophane noodles" or "glass noodles" because of their

cellophane Cellophane is a thin, transparent sheet made of regenerated cellulose. Its low permeability to air, oils, greases, bacteria, and liquid water makes it useful for food packaging. Cellophane is highly permeable to water vapour, but may be coated ...

- or

glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling ( quenching ...

-like transparency when cooked. Cellophane noodles should not be confused with

rice vermicelli Rice vermicelli is a thin form of noodle. It is sometimes referred to as 'rice noodles' or 'rice sticks', but should not be confused with cellophane noodles, a different Asian type of vermicelli made from mung bean starch or rice starch rathe ...

, which are made from

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

and are white in color rather than clear (after cooking in water).

Varieties

Cellophane noodles are made from a variety of starches. In China, cellophane noodles are usually made of mung bean starch or sweet potato starch. Chinese varieties made from mung bean starch are called Chinese vermicelli, bean threads, or bean thread noodles. Chinese varieties made from sweet potato starch are called Fentiao or Hongshufen. 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'' (literally "flat ''dangmyeon"'') refers to flat sweet potato noodles. File:Dongfen.JPG, Dried Chinese vermicelli made with mung bean starch File:Fentiao.jpg, Dried Chinese fentiao or Hongshufen made with sweet potato starch File:Suanlafen.jpg, Sì chuān suān là fěn( Hot and sour noodles) made with Fensi or Hongshufen File:Dong bei da la pi.jpg, ''Dōng běi dà lā pí'' made with Chinese mung bean sheets File:Dangmyeon.jpg, Dried Korean ''dangmyeon'' made with sweet potato starch File:Napjak-dangmyeon in jjimdak.jpg, ''Napjak-dangmyeon'' in ''

jjimdak Andong-jjimdak () is a variety of ''jjim'' (a Korean steamed or boiled dish), which originated in the city of Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province and is made with chicken, various vegetables marinated in a ''ganjang'' (Korean soy sauce) based sauc ...

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 Longkou (), formerly Huang County (), is a port city in northeastern Shandong province, China, facing the Bohai Sea to the north and the Laizhou Bay to the west. Longkou, a county-level city, is administered by the prefecture-level city of Yant ...

, and thus the noodles are known and marketed as Longkou ''fensi'' ().

Use

East Asia

China

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

, the most commonly used names are ''fěnsī'' (, literally "noodle thread") and ''fěntiáo'' or ''hóngshǔfěn'' ( or , literally "noodle strip" or "sweet potato noodles"). They are also marketed under the name ''saifun'', the

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...

pronunciation of the Mandarin ''xìfěn'' (; literally "slender noodle"), though the name ''fánsī'' (粉絲) is the term most often used in Cantonese. In China, cellophane noodles are a popular ingredient used in stir fries, soups, and particularly

hot pot Hot pot or hotpot (), also known as soup-food or steamboat, is a cooking method that originated in China. A heat source on the dining table keeps a pot of soup stock simmering, and a variety of Chinese foodstuffs and ingredients are served b ...

s. They can also be used as an ingredient in fillings for a variety of Chinese ''

jiaozi ''Jiaozi'' (; ; pinyin: jiǎozi) are Chinese dumplings commonly eaten in China and other parts of East Asia. ''Jiaozi'' are folded to resemble Chinese sycee and have great cultural significance attached to them within China. ''Jiaozi'' are ...

'' (dumplings) and ''

bing Bing most often refers to: * Bing Crosby (1903–1977), American singer * Microsoft Bing, a web search engine Bing may also refer to: Food and drink * Bing (bread), a Chinese flatbread * Bing (soft drink), a UK brand * Bing cherry, a varie ...

'' (

flatbreads A flatbread is a bread made with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pizza and pita bread. Flatbreads ...

), especially in

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

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 shanghai cuisine using the ingredient is fried tofu with thin noodles (;

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally writte ...

: ''yóu dòu fu-xiàn fěn tāng''). A popular

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

dish called '' ants climbing a tree'' consists of stewed cellophane noodles with a spicy ground pork meat sauce. In

Tibetan cuisine Tibetan cuisine includes the culinary traditions and practices and its peoples. The cuisine reflects the Tibetan landscape of mountains and plateaus and includes influences from neighbors (including India and Nepal where many Tibetans abide) ...

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions of � ...

, glass noodles are called ''phing'' or ''fing'' and are used in soup, pork curry or with mushrooms.

Japan

Japanese cuisine Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of Japan, which have developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes. The traditional cuisine of Japan (Japanese: ) is based on rice with miso soup and oth ...

, 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

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 Konjac (or konjak, ) is a common name of the East and Southeast Asian plant ''Amorphophallus konjac'' ( syn. ''A. rivieri''), which has an edible corm (bulbo-tuber). It is also known as konjaku, konnyaku potato, devil's tongue, voodoo lily, sn ...

yam and sometimes

tofu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super f ...

Korea

In Korean cuisine, glass noodles are usually made from sweet potato starch and are called ''dangmyeon'' (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The le ...

: ;

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, ...

: ; literally " Tang noodles"; also spelled ''dang myun'', ''dangmyun'', ''tang myun'', or ''tangmyun''). They are commonly stir-fried in sesame oil with beef and vegetables, and flavoured with soy and sugar, in a popular dish called ''

japchae ''Japchae'' () is a savory and slightly sweet dish of stir-fried glass noodles and vegetables that is popular in Korean cuisine. * ''Japchae'' is typically prepared with '' dangmyeon'' (당면, 唐麵), a type of cellophane noodles made from ...

'' (hangul: 잡채). They are usually thick, and are a brownish-gray color when in their uncooked form.

South Asia

India

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, glass noodles are called ''falooda'' (see

falooda A ''falooda'' is a Mughlai Indian version of a cold dessert made with noodles. It has origins in the Persian dish '' faloodeh'', variants of which are found across West, Central, and South Asia. Traditionally it is made by mixing rose syrup, ...

, the dessert dish), and are served on top of ''

kulfi Kulfi () ( fa, ) is a frozen dairy dessert originating in the Indian subcontinent during the Mughal era in the 16th century. It is often described as "traditional Indian ice cream". Kulfi is a traditional sweet of the Indian subcontinent, wher ...

'' (a traditional ice cream). 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 northern and southern parts of India.

Southeast Asia

Indonesia

In Indonesian cuisine, they are called ''soun'' or ''suun'', probably from (POJ: suànn-hún). Its usually eaten with

bakso Bakso or baso is an Indonesian meatball, or a meat paste made from beef surimi. Its texture is similar to the Chinese beef ball, fish ball, or pork ball. The word ''bakso'' may refer to a single meatball or the complete dish of meatball soup. '' ...

tekwan Tekwan is a Palembang soup dish originated from the Indonesian region of Palembang. The dish contain some small size fish cakes made of local Musi river's fish similar to pempek preparation, and it served with the savoury shrimp (or prawn) broth ...

, and soto. In Klaten, soun made from

aren Aren may refer to: People ; Given name * Andreas Arén (born 1985), Swedish ski jumper * Aren b, also known as Brendan Vintedge, American singer-songwriter * Aren Davoudi (born 1986), Armenian basketball player * Aren Kuri (born 1991), Japanese ...

starch.

Malaysia

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

they are known as ''tanghoon'' ( 冬粉). They are sometimes confused with ''bihun'' ( 米粉) which are

. Sometimes also known as suhun or suhoon.

Myanmar (Burma)

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, cellophane noodles are called ''kyazan'' (; ), more specifically called ''pe kyazan'' (, ), which is typically made with mung bean flour. The other form of ''kyazan'', called ''hsan kyazan'' (), refers to

. ''Kyazan'' is the primary starch used in a Burmese consomme called ''

kya zan hinga Kya zan hinga ( my, ကြာဆံဟင်းခါး; ), also known as kyazan chet (), is a dish of glass noodles in chicken consommé in Burmese cuisine. It is made with mushrooms, bean curd skin, lily stems, shrimp, garlic, pepper and som ...

'', and is also used in

Burmese salads Burmese salads (; transliterated ''athoke'' or ''athouk'') are a diverse category of indigenous salads in Burmese cuisine. Burmese salads are made of cooked and raw ingredients that are mixed by hand to combine and balance a wide-ranging array of ...

Philippines

Filipino cuisine Filipino cuisine ( fil, lutong Pilipino/pagkaing Pilipino) is composed of the cuisines of more than a hundred distinct ethnolinguistic groups found throughout the Philippine archipelago. A majority of mainstream Filipino dishes that compose Fi ...

, 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

Thai cuisine Thai cuisine ( th, อาหารไทย, , ) is the national cuisine of Thailand. Thai cooking places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components and a spicy edge. Australian chef David Thompson, an expert on Thai ...

, glass noodles are called ''wun sen'' ( th, วุ้นเส้น). They are commonly mixed with pork and shrimp in a spicy salad called ''yam wun sen'' ( th, ยำวุ้นเส้น), or stir-fried as ''phat wun sen'' ( th, ผัดวุ้นเส้น).

Vietnam

Vietnamese cuisine Vietnamese cuisine encompasses the foods and beverages of Vietnam. Meals feature a combination of five fundamental tastes ( vi, ngũ vị, links=no, label=none): sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and spicy. The distinctive nature of each dish refle ...

, 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 ( vi, dong riềng), 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 (

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

: bún) and

arrowroot Arrowroot is a starch obtained from the rhizomes (rootstock) of several tropical plants, traditionally ''Maranta arundinacea'', but also Florida arrowroot from ''Zamia integrifolia'', and tapioca from cassava (''Manihot esculenta''), which is oft ...

starch noodles (

: arrowroot: ''củ dong'', arrowroot starch: ''bột dong/bột hoàng tinh/bột mì tinh'').

Polynesia

French Polynesia

In French Polynesia, cellophane noodles are known as ''vermicelle de soja'' and was introduced to the islands by

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

agricultural workers during the 19th-century. They are most often used in ''maa tinito'', a dish made with cellophane noodles mixed together with pork, beans and cooked vegetables.

Hawaii

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

, 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 A potato ricer (also called a ricer) is a kitchen implement used to process potatoes or other food by forcing it through a sheet of small holes, which are typically about the diameter of a grain of rice. Description A common variety of potato ri ...

. They are used most often in ''chicken long rice'', a dish of cellophane noodles in chicken broth that is often served at luaus.

Samoa

Glass noodles were introduced to

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

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'' (transliteration of the

chop suey Chop suey () is a dish in American Chinese cuisine and other forms of overseas Chinese cuisine, consisting of meat (usually chicken, pork, beef, shrimp or fish) and eggs, cooked quickly with vegetables such as bean sprouts, cabbage, and celery a ...

) 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".

Health concerns

In 2004, a number of companies producing

cellophane noodles produced in

Yantai Yantai, formerly known as Chefoo, is a coastal prefecture-level city on the Shandong Peninsula in northeastern Shandong province of People's Republic of China. Lying on the southern coast of the Bohai Strait, Yantai borders Qingdao on the ...

, Shandong were discovered to be

adulterated An adulterant is caused by the act of adulteration, a practice of secretly mixing a substance with another. Typical substances that are adulterated include but are not limited to food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, fuel, or other chemicals, th ...

, with unscrupulous companies making noodles from

cornstarch Corn starch, maize starch, or cornflour (British English) is the starch derived from corn (maize) grain. The starch is obtained from the endosperm of the kernel. Corn starch is a common food ingredient, often used to thicken sauces or so ...

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 (SZPI) again inspected Chinese cellophane noodles, this time determining that of

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

had been used in the production of the noodles. Above is an illegal amount for noodles in Czech and EU markets (see Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 and its amendments (EU) No 187/2011, 618/2013 annex I).

References

External links

Cook's Thesaurus: Other Asian Noodles
{{Japanese food and drink, state=autocollapse Chinese noodles Korean noodles Noodles Philippine noodles Vietnamese noodles Japanese noodles Hawaiian cuisine Samoan cuisine French Polynesian cuisine Polynesian Chinese cuisine