Dried Noodles

Instant noodles have become internationally recognized food, and worldwide consumption is on the rise. Quality factors important for instant noodles are color, flavor, and texture, cooking quality, rehydration rates during final preparation, and the presence or absence of rancid taste after extended storage.

Fresh noodle stands are dried by sunlight or in a controlled chamber. Chinese raw noodles, Cantonese noodles, chuka-men, udon noodles, and soba noodles can be in dried form. Noodle shelf life is dramatically extended, but fragile noodles may have handling problems.

Instant dried noodles are produced in a fully automatic production line similar to the type used for steamed and deep-fried noodles, except that a continuous drying chamber replaces the deep fryer, using hot air as the drying medium.

Air drying usually involves multistage processes since too rapid drying causes noodle checking, similar to spaghetti drying. In the first stage, low temperature (15-200 °C) and dry air are applied to reduce the noodle moisture content from 40-45% to 25- 27%.

In the second stage, air of 400 °C and 70-75% relative humidity is used to ensure moisture migration from the interior of the noodle strands to outside surfaces. In the final stage, the product is further dried using cool air.
Dried Noodles

Dried mung bean vermicelli

The best known noodles are mung noodles, which are known in Korea and Laos as Chinese noodles. Dried mung bean vermicelli noodles are sometimes called cellophane, glass or jelly noodles, and are made from the starch of mung beans.

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