Chinese noodles

Noodles are an essential ingredient and staple in Chinese cuisine. There is a great variety of Chinese noodles, which vary according to their region of production, ingredients, shape or width, and manner of preparation. They are an important part of most regional cuisines within China, as well as in Singapore, and other Southeast Asian nations with sizable overseas Chinese populations.

Chinese-style noodles have also entered the cuisines of neighboring East Asian countries such as Korea (jajangmyeon) and Japan (ramen), as well as Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam (hủ tiếu and mì xào are both examples of Vietnamese dishes that are of Chinese origin), the Philippines, Thailand, and Cambodia.

Nomenclature

Nomenclature of Chinese noodles can be difficult due to the vast spectrum available in China and the many dialects of Chinese used to name them. In Chinese, miàn (simplified Chinese: 面; traditional Chinese: 麵; often transliterated as "mien" or "mein" ) refers to noodles made from wheat, while fěn (粉) or "fun" refers to noodles made from rice flour, mung bean starch, or indeed any kind of starch. Each noodle type can be rendered in pinyin for Mandarin, but in Hong Kong and neighboring Guangdong it will be known by its Cantonese pronunciation ("min"). Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and many other Overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia may use Hokkien (Min Nan) instead ("mee").