Demonstrating Your Cooking Expertise

When you go to a Chinese food restaurant, you often expect rice to accompany your meal. Rice is by far a staple of Chinese cuisine. It is not, however, your only option for a starch. Chinese restaurant cooks can choose from a wide variety of noodles as a base for their dishes. Indeed, noodles are very traditional — according to The Spruce, their length symbolizes a long life.

Some noodles might be familiar, while others new to you. Below is a guide for five kinds of noodles used in Chinese cooking.

1. Lo Mein and Chow Mein

Lo mein and chow mein are noodle names many people are familiar with. Lo mein is the softer noodle, while chow mein is served crunchy. Chinese cooks start with the same wheat-based noodles. The difference comes in how they prepare them. They toss the noodles with sauce for lo mein and fry the noodles with sauce for chow mein. The cooking method dictates the texture of the noodles.

2. Soba Noodles

Soba noodles are a unique style. Manufacturers start with both buckwheat and wheat flour. Therefore, the noodles are darker, weightier, and nuttier than most other noodles. What's more, Chinese restaurant cooks usually use them in cold dishes. Indeed, some cooks chill them in ice before serving them. They're traditionally accompanied with a flavorful dipping sauce.

3. Ramen Noodles

Ramen noodles are misunderstood as a low-budget meal. In fact, ramen noodles serve as the base for a number of delicious soups with multiple ingredients. The noodles themselves are egg-based. Manufacturers treat them with an alkaline ingredient, which causes them to take on their curly shape. Ramen noodles can cook directly in their broth — Chinese cooks don't need to boil them.

4. Udon Noodles

Udon noodles originated in China, though Japanese restaurant cooks use them, too. Their ingredients are limited — just wheat flour, water, and salt. They're thicker than both soba and ramen noodles. However, like ramen noodles, they can cook directly in the dish's broth rather than be boiled ahead of time. They come both flat and rounded. The shape can impact their texture.

5. Vermicelli Noodles

Vermicelli noodles are another unique style. Despite their Italian-sounding name, they're popular in Chinese cookery. Manufacturers start with a fine rice flour to make narrow strings of noodles. They're springy when cooks boil them. In that state, they're also ideal for soaking up the sauce in the dish. However, cooks can also deep-fry the vermicelli noodles to make crunchy nests.

Try one of the above types of noodles next time you visit a Chinese restaurant.

To learn more, visit a website like http://www.lilacblossomrestaurant.com.