Know your noodles

You’ll discover dozens of different noodles at Asian supermarkets: fresh and dried; long and short; made from wheat, made from rice, made from bean starch. So where do you start?

Choose your noodles

They are often arranged by country of origin, but don’t get too hung up on using the perfect culturally correct noodle.

Just a few of the noodles you will find are:

• Wheat noodles: Chinese lo mein, chow mein and won ton; Japanese ramen, soba and somen; southeast Asian mee pok or mian bao; and Korean naengmyeon.

• Rice noodles: southeast Asian vermicelli, rice sticks and rice paper; Chinese chow fun, lai fan and mixian.

• Noodles made from other starches: southeast Asian mung bean threads, also called cellophane or glass noodles; Korean jap che, cellophane noodles made from sweet potato starch.

Cook your noodles

Asian noodles take less time to cook than Italian pasta. Fresh noodles really need only to be warmed through, while dried wheat noodles take about three minutes in hot water and rice noodles about one minute. Typically you will boil them before frying them or adding them to soup.

Great Asian noodle dishes to try Ramen (Japan)

Thin, Chinese-style wheat noodles in a savoury meat or fish broth, often flavoured with soy or miso, and topped with ingredients such as barbecued pork, scallions, bean sprouts, corn and a boiled egg.

Where to try: Hokkaido Ramen Santouka (1690 Robson St.) or Marutama Ra-men (780 Bidwell St.).

Udon (Japan)

A thick wheat noodle served in a savoury dashi broth, typically topped with scallions and tempura prawns or vegetables.

Where to try: Sanuki Udon

(1226 Robson St.).

Laksa (Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia)

Description: A spicy noodle soup from a MalaysianChinese fusion cuisine. The broth is based on rich coconut milk and curry, with the addition of thick rice noodles, as well as sliced meat, fish and/or vegetables.

Where to try: Laksa King (2546 E. Hastings St.).

Taiwanese beef noodle (Taiwan)

A savoury, slightly spicy soup that is considered the national dish of Taiwan. It comprises braised beef (such as brisket), vegetables and Chinese noodles in a rich beef broth.

Where to try: Chef Hung Taiwanese Beef Noodle (several locations including UBC, Richmond’s Aberdeen Centre and 1560 Marine Dr., West Vancouver).

Mie Goreng (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore)

A spicy fried noodle dish of thin yellow noodles cooked with onions, garlic, shallots, shrimp, chicken or beef, vegetables and chilies.

Where to try: Hawkers

Delight Deli (4127 Main St.) or Banana Leaf (1096 Denman St. and other locations).

Pad Thai (Thailand)

Wide rice noodles stir-fried with tamarind, chilies, eggs, shrimp, fish sauce and tofu.

Where to try: Longtail Kitchen (River Market, New Westminster Quay), Urban Thai Bistro (1119 Hamilton St.) or Thai Cuisine by Montri (2585 West Broadway).

Pho (Vietnam)

A fragrant beef broth with linguine-style rice noodles called banh pho, topped with fresh basil, bean sprouts, chili sauce and sliced meat.

Where to try: Green Lemongrass (1086 Kingsway) or Pho Thai Hoa (3524 Kingsway). Dandan, dandanmian or tan tan noodles (China, Szechuan province)

Skinny wheat noodles tossed with spicy minced pork, chili oil, preserved vegetables and crushed peanuts; the sweeter North Americanized version is made with peanut butter.

Where to try: Peaceful Restaurant (532 West Broadway), Fat Mao Noodles (217 East Georgia St.).