Slurp Up!

Hor Fun is Kuey Teow to me and people who pays no attention in using the correct term. Makes no difference to us, right? However you will be mesmerised by the different types of noodles available in the Asian market. Yesterday, one of the senior officers in the office was trying very, very hard trying to make me understand there are at least 10 different types of noodles.

They are basically categorised by its respective bases. Some are wheat-based, some are rice-based, and some are starch-based and so on. (Suhun too is a noodle, apparently). Well, let’s start the countdown of 10 different noodles, shall we?

Italian staple foodm check out restorante here

The number one noodle would be pasta! Pasta came in all shapes and sizes. And it is wheat based. And with such shapes and sizes it has its own name. That is why we have fettuccini, fusilli and the ever famous spaghetti.  Some alteration may be made making some pastas at times have basil and tomato flavours infused in them.

Next, is the udon. Udon is a type of Japanese noodle made of wheat often served with stocks. However, the stock that the udon noodle is served with varies in different region in Japan. The dark brown stocks are made in the East of Japan, while the slightly brown coloured stock indicates that it is made in the West part of the country.

Moving on to another type of noodle is the ramen. Ramen is another Japanese delicacy however it is of Chinese origin. The noodle comes in various form, some may be thick, thin, and straight or wrinkled. The ramen stock is either made of chicken but mostly it is made of pork. The healthier version of ramen is the Soba.

Soba is another Japanese noodle. Often green in colour, this noodle is made of buckwheat flour. It can be served chilled with dipping sauce or hot as in noodle soup. Soba that is made with newly harvested buckwheat is called “shin-soba”. It is sweeter and more flavourful compared to the regular soba.

Moving on to my favourite noodle is the Hor Fun. Hor Fun, some may say as the thinner version of kuey teow and most people just call it kuey teow. Here’s the catch, hor fun is not kuey teow as its strips are elastic and chewy in texture even after cooking making it a less popular choice. Is it also similar to the Vietnamese noodle, Pho.

Kuey Teow is rice cake strips that are used in making CharKuey Teow. In comparison to hor fun, kuey teow is broader than and not as elastic as the hor fun and it can be found in the supermarket. It is also popular among other races not only the Chinese.

Confusion in the noodle world is the glass noodle or cellophane noodle and the rice vermicelli. The cellophane noodle varies in size and it is made of mung beans. Most noticeable quality of glass noodle is its transparency and its ability to absorb water. With that being said (or typed out), ladies and gentlemen, glass noodle a.k.a. cellophane noodle is actually what we Malaysian call as suhun or soun.

Rice vermicelli as the name suggests, is made from rice and white in colour in comparison to glass noodle that is transparent in colour. Popular dish that uses this type of noodle is the Singaporefried beehoon. Beehoon is the other name of rice vermicelli.

Then, there’s yellow noodle or what I like to call as mee. Yellow mee, its other name is actually wheat based. Already al dente in its uncooked form, this yellow noodle is used in stir fried noodle dish, curry noodle and noodle soup.

Yi Mien, or yee mee is another type of noodle. Usually sold in packets of rock hard noodle cracker this noodle is made of wheat flour, also called egg noodle. They are known for their golden and chewy characteristics. This is due to the soda water used in the preparation process of making it.

Well, that’s all for now. After writing this, I somehow would like to believe that I can slurp a bowl of noodle! Sluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrpp! Aaahhhhhh :D