Cooking with Rice Noodles
It is easy to overcook rice noodles, making them mushy and fall apart.
Rice noodle sizes (smallest to largest):
- Vermicelli
- Small (Sen Lek)
- Medium (Sen Pad Thai)
- Large
- THICC/Wide (Sen Yai)
Use vermicelli and small for soups. Can use larger if they’re fresh. Medium is most common for pad thai.
#1 reason beginners get mushy noodles is because they follow the package directions to boil the noodles before putting in the stir fry. This is different from egg noodles which do require to be fully cooked first. Never trust package instructions on asian products.
Soaking
Instead soak in room temperature water
| Noodle | Time (min) |
|---|---|
| vermicelli | 5-15 |
| small | 20-30 |
| medium | 50-60 |
| large | 90-120 |
Thick/wide noodles are an exception. Cover with boiling water. Soak for 15 minutes. Stir often in the beginning to prevent sticking to each other. Then drain and rinse under cold water.
When noodles are done soaking, they should be completely drooping. If they still retain their shape, they’re not ready yet. They will need a little extra liquid in the stir fry, provided inherently by the sauce or add some water. It is difficult to oversoak with room temperature water.
Quick Soak
In a pinch you can soak in boiling water in shorter time.
| Noodle | Time (min) |
|---|---|
| small | 2 |
| medium | 3 |
| large | 4 |
Then drain immediately under cold water.
Would not recommend doing this with vermicelli. Instead soak in boiling water for 5 seconds, then quickly remove. You want them to be slightly underdone, assuming this is for soup.