The market · Grains and flours · East Asia, Southeast Asia

Glass noodles

Translucent noodles made from mung bean or sweet potato starch. Slippery and springy, they soak up broth in soups, hotpots, japchae and spring roll fillings.

slippery · springy · neutral

What to do with it

Classics built on it
JavaneseSoto ayamA clear chicken broth, yellow with turmeric, poured over shredded chicken, glass noodles, bean sprouts and egg, with lime, sambal and fried shallots.No one here has made it yetBeijingInstant-boiled muttonPaper-thin slices of raw mutton swished for a moment in plain boiling water, in a chimneyed copper pot over charcoal, then dipped in a rich sesame sauce.No one here has made it yet

Kinds

Mung bean (cellophane)
Thin, delicate — for soups, salads and fillings.
Sweet potato (dangmyeon)
Thicker and chewier — for Korean japchae.

Goes with

chicken stockporkgarlicfish sauce

Knowing it

Where to buy
Chinese, Thai and Korean grocers, dried in bundles.
Worth knowing
Soak, don't boil, the thin ones: ten minutes in warm water, then cut with scissors.

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