These translucent dried noodles are made from the starch of the mung bean (the same bean sold as bean sprouts) and sold in small bundles.
They have more of a slippery texture than rice vermicelli and are best used in coconut-based soups or salads. Popular in soups and occasionally stir-fried, these threadlike noodles have a more slippery texture than other rice or wheat noodles.
In Japan, mung noodles are known as harusame which translates into ‘string rain noodles’.
Cellophane noodles also puff up into a crisp nest when deep-fried. Some mung bean noodles look opaque and so are sometimes mistaken for rice vermicelli.
Dried mung bean vermicelli