Cellophane noodles

Cellophane noodles, or fensi, sometimes called glass noodles, are a type of transparent noodle made from starch (such as mung bean starch, potato starch, sweet potato starch, tapioca, or canna starch) and water. A stabilizer such as chitosan (or alum, illegal in some jurisdictions) may also be used.

They are generally sold in dried form, soaked to reconstitute, then used in soups, stir-fried dishes, or spring rolls. They are called "cellophane noodles" or "glass noodles" because of their cellophane- or glass-like transparency when cooked. Cellophane noodles should not be confused with rice vermicelli, which are made from rice and are white in color rather than clear (after cooking in water).

Varieties
Cellophane noodles are made from a variety of starches. In China, cellophane noodles are usually made of mung bean starch or sweet potato starch. Chinese varieties made from mung bean starch are called Chinese vermicelli, bean threads, or bean thread noodles. Chinese varieties made from sweet potato starch are called fentiao or hongshufen. Thicker Korean varieties made with sweet potato starch are called sweet potato noodles or dangmyeon.

Cellophane noodles are available in various thicknesses. Wide, flat cellophane noodle sheets called mung bean sheets are also produced in China. In Korea, napjak-dangmyeon (literally "flat dangmyeon") refers to flat sweet potato noodles.

Production
In China, the primary site of production of cellophane noodles is the town of Zhangxing, in Zhaoyuan, Shandong province. However, historically the noodles were shipped through the port of Longkou, and thus the noodles are known and marketed as Longkou fensi.

China
In Chinese, the most commonly used names are fěnsī and fěntiáo or hóngshǔfěn ( or  or 'sweet potato noodles'). They are also marketed under the name saifun, the Cantonese pronunciation of the Mandarin xìfěn (, though the name fánsī (粉絲) is the term most often used in Cantonese.

In China, cellophane noodles are a popular ingredient used in stir fries, soups, and particularly hot pots. They can also be used as an ingredient in fillings for a variety of Chinese jiaozi (dumplings) and bing (flatbreads), especially in vegetarian versions of these dishes. Thicker cellophane noodles are also commonly used to imitate the appearance and texture of shark's fin in vegetarian soups. Thicker varieties, most popular in China's northeast, are used in stir fries as well as cold salad-like dishes. A popular shanghai cuisine using the ingredient is fried tofu with thin noodles. A popular Sichuan dish called ants climbing a tree consists of stewed cellophane noodles with a spicy ground pork meat sauce.

In Tibetan cuisine of Tibet Autonomous Region, glass noodles are called phing or fing and are used in soup, pork curry or with mushrooms.

Japan
In Japanese cuisine, they are called harusame (春雨), literally "spring rain". Unlike Chinese glass noodles, they are usually made from potato starch. They are commonly used to make salads, or as an ingredient in hot pot dishes. They are also often used to make Japanese adaptations of Chinese and Korean dishes. Shirataki noodles are translucent, traditional Japanese noodles made from the konjac yam and sometimes tofu.

Korea
In Korean cuisine, glass noodles are usually made from sweet potato starch and are called dangmyeon (Hangul: 당면; Hanja: 唐麵; literally "Tang noodles"; also spelled dang myun, dangmyun, tang myun, or tangmyun). They are commonly stir-fried in sesame oil with beef and vegetables, and flavoured with soy and sugar, in a popular dish called japchae. They are usually thick, and are a brownish-gray color when in their uncooked form.

Recipe
To make the glass noodles more chewy, add cooking oil (1.236 tablespoons), thick soy sauce (1.2 tablespoons), and 25.23g of glass noodles in boiling water (6 cups), boil for 3 to 4 minutes, almost pour out the water, then boil on a medium heat for 5 minutes to evaporate moisture. Drain it by sifting it, mix it slightly with cooking oil (2 tablespoons) or thick soy sauce, or stir-fry it in a pan.

India
In India, glass noodles are called falooda (see falooda, the dessert dish), and are served on top of kulfi (a traditional ice cream). They are usually made from arrowroot starch using a traditional technique. The noodles are flavorless so they provide a nice contrast with the sweet kulfi. Kulfi and falooda can be bought from numerous food stalls throughout northern and southern parts of India.

Indonesia
In Indonesian cuisine, they are called soun or suun, probably from (POJ: suànn-hún). Its usually eaten with bakso, tekwan, and soto. In Klaten, soun made from aren starch.

Malaysia
In Malaysia, they are known as tanghoon (冬粉). They are sometimes confused with bihun (米粉) which are rice vermicelli. Sometimes also known as suhun or suhoon.

Myanmar (Burma)
In Myanmar, cellophane noodles are called kyazan (lit. 'lotus thread'), more specifically called pe kyazan (MY ပဲကြာဆံ, lit. 'bean lotus thread'), which is typically made with mung bean flour. The other form of kyazan, called hsan kyazan (MY ဆန်ကြာဆံ), refers to rice vermicelli.

Kyazan is the primary starch used in a Burmese consomme called kya zan hinga, and is also used in Burmese salads.

Philippines
In Filipino cuisine, the noodles are called a similar name: sotanghon because of the popular dish of the same name made from them using chicken and wood ears. They are also confused with rice vermicelli, which is called bihon in the Philippines.

Thailand
In Thai cuisine, glass noodles are called wun sen (วุ้นเส้น). They are commonly mixed with pork and shrimp in a spicy salad called yam wun sen (ยำวุ้นเส้น), or stir-fried as phat wun sen (ผัดวุ้นเส้น) and sometimes used as the noodles for pad thai.

Vietnam
In Vietnamese cuisine, there are two varieties of cellophane noodles. The first, called bún tàu or bún tào, are made from mung bean starch, and were introduced by Chinese immigrants. The second, called miến or miến dong, are made from canna (dong riềng), and were developed in Vietnam. These cellophane noodles are a main ingredient in the dishes: miến gà (chicken), miến lươn (eel), miến ngan (muscovy duck), and miến cua (crab). These cellophane noodles are sometimes confused with rice vermicelli (bún) and arrowroot starch noodles (Vietnamese: arrowroot: củ dong, arrowroot starch: bột dong/bột hoàng tinh/tinh bột khoai mì).

French Polynesia
In French Polynesia, cellophane noodles are known as vermicelle de soja and was introduced to the islands by Hakka agricultural workers during the 19th-century. They are most often used in maa tinito, a dish made with cellophane noodles mixed together with pork, beans and cooked vegetables.

Hawaii
In Hawaii, where cuisine is heavily influenced by Asian cultures, cellophane noodles are known locally as long rice, supposedly because the process of making the noodles involves extruding the starch through a potato ricer. They are used most often in chicken long rice, a dish of cellophane noodles in chicken broth that is often served at luaus.

Samoa
Glass noodles were introduced to Samoa by Cantonese agricultural workers in the early 1900s where they became known as "lialia", a Samoan word meaning "to twirl", after the method of twirling the noodles around chopsticks when eating. A popular dish called sapasui (transliteration of the Cantonese chop suey) is common fare at social gatherings. Sapasui, a soupy dish of boiled glass noodles mixed with braised pork, beef, or chicken and chopped vegetables, is akin to Hawaiian "long rice".

Health concerns
There were several food safety incidents originating in China. In 2004, a number of companies in Yantai, China, were found to be producing Longkou cellophane noodles with cornstarch instead of green beans, to reduce costs. In order to make the cornstarch transparent, they were adding sodium formaldehyde sulfoxylate and lead-based whiteners to their noodles.

In December 2010, Czech food inspection authorities inspecting Chinese cellophane noodles determined that 142 mg/kg of aluminium had been added to them. Above 10 mg/kg is an illegal amount for noodles in Czech and EU markets (see Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 and its amendments (EU) No 187/2011, 618/2013 annex I).