How to cook rice noodles?

How to cook rice noodles?

Made from the water and rice flour, rice noodles are semi-transparent pasta which is thin and very long. These noodles cook fast and can turn mushy if cooked for long. Hence, you must know how to cook them properly to avoid overcooking.

If you are wondering how to cook rice noodles perfectly, here is a simple 4-step guide to follow:

Soak in lukewarm water

Depending on the dish for which you are going to use the noodles, the method of boiling varies. If you are going to use rice noodles for a stir-fry dish or to make a ‘Pad Thai’, you need partially cooked noodles to make your recipe a success.  Such methods require noodles which are tender outside and hard inside.

As rice noodles are brittle, you should be careful while dealing with them in an uncooked state. Fresh noodles are soft and not required to be cooked. If you are using fresh rice noodles, you can add them directly to the dishes without soaking them in lukewarm water.

But most of the rice noodles available in the market are hard and brittle and hence should be soaked in the lukewarm water gently. Here is how to soak the rice noodles in lukewarm water:

Take a large bowl or pot

Add the noodles carefully without much damage

Add lukewarm water to this bowl so that the noodles get submerged completely. The water should be warm, not boiling/steaming.

Now cover the bowl/pot with a lid up to 10 minutes

Open the lid after 7 minutes to check if the noodles are separating

If yes, partially cooked noodles are ready to be transferred to another dish

If not, cover it for a while to get prepared as required.

Once the noodles are ready drain the water by passing them through a colander

Run them under the cold water immediately to stop the process of cooking

Drain again to take out the excess water

If you want to keep them aside for a while, toss them with sesame oil to avoid sticking together temporarily.

To prevent the dryness, you can store them in a sealed container at room temperature.

Soak in boiling water

Thoroughly cook noodles are commonly used when they are not a part of some other recipe. In such cases, instead of lukewarm water, you need boiling water to get the tender noodles from inside. Especially in the cold noodle dishes like bean and salads, where you use the raw form of noodles, you need to cook them perfectly beforehand. Even flat rice used as wrappers also requires boiling water.

Fresh rice noodles are never soaked in the boiling water as they are already tender. You need to steam them and add to the dish. Dry rice noodles are brittle and hence broken up into pieces very quickly. Do not cook the rice noodles directly on the stove as it may turn mushy.

Here is how to cook rice noodles with boiling water:

Take a bowl and add dry rice noodles as required

Now add the boiling water and cover it with a lid

Keep on stirring the noodles gently after 1-2 minutes to keep an eye on its consistency

Once the noodles start turning thin, thread-like, they are ready

Drain the excess water

Run them under the cold water, if there is a delay in adding them to the salad or another dish

Always toss the cooked rice noodles with sesame oil to avoid clumping.

Dealing with over-soaked noodles

Sometimes, the noodles do not turn mushy but seem to be wet as over-soaked. Expose them to dry air. It will make them partially dry.

Drain out the excess water using a colander

Now lay them out flat with the single layer over a platter or a larger plate.

The noodles with dry within 30 minutes

If you want chewy noodles, you can put them in the microwave for 5-10 minutes.

Some helpful tips which will get you the perfectly cooked Rice noodles:

For making a soup, you should prepare the noodles in the broth to absorb the flavours of the soup. You should add them only at the time of serving to avoid overcooking.

For preparing the noodles for the dishes like pad thai. Always prefer under-cooked noodles. Once stir fry, these partially cooked noodles will automatically absorb their moisture. Adding perfectly cooked noodles to the recipes can turn them mushy due to overcooking.

To avoid clumping up of boiled noodles, toss them with sesame oil.

Do you have to soak rice noodles before cooking?

If you are dealing with the fresh rice noodles, soaking is not at all required. Blanching the noodles for 1-2 minutes will get you the perfectly cooked noodles. However, dry noodles should be oaked in the lukewarm water when added to the other recipes like Thad Pai. If dr rice noodles need to be used in soups, you can soak them into the boiling water.

How do you make rice noodles, not stick?

Running the steamed/ boiled/ cooked noodles under the cold water helps in removing the surface starch. Tossing these noodles with a bit of oil helps to avoid sticking. Toss them occasionally till the time not added to the recipe.