Noodles of Asia: A Field Guide
Wheat, rice, buckwheat, mung bean and sweet potato noodles — what they're made of, how they differ, and the classic dishes from Tashkent to Tokyo that use each.
Short answer
Asian noodles fall into a few families by main ingredient: wheat (ramen, udon, lagman, Lanzhou lamian), rice (pho, pad thai, rice vermicelli), buckwheat (soba, Korean naengmyeon), and starch noodles from mung bean or sweet potato (glass noodles, japchae). Each behaves differently and suits different dishes.
Key points
- Hand-pulled wheat noodles link Central Asia and north-west China.
- Rice noodles dominate South-East Asia.
- Glass noodles are made from starch, not wheat or rice.
- Slurping is normal in Japan and much of East Asia.
From the hand-pulled lagman of Tashkent to the soba of Tokyo, noodles are one of the threads that tie Asian food together — and one of the clearest examples of how much it varies. The best way to understand them is by what they're made from.
Wheat noodles
Wheat noodles dominate in northern China, Central Asia, Japan and Korea, where wheat grows better than rice.
| Noodle | Where | Notes | Classic dish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lamian (hand-pulled) | North-west China | Stretched by hand into strands | Lanzhou beef noodle soup |
| Lagman | Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Xinjiang | Hand-pulled, often thick | Lagman with meat and vegetable sauce |
| Ramen | Japan | Alkaline water gives springiness | Shoyu, miso, shio, tonkotsu ramen |
| Udon | Japan | Thick, soft, chewy | Kake udon, kitsune udon |
| Kalguksu | Korea | Knife-cut | Noodle soup in anchovy or chicken broth |
| Dan dan | Sichuan, China | Thin wheat noodles | Dan dan noodles in chilli oil |
Rice noodles
In South-East Asia and southern China, rice is the base.
- Pho noodles (banh pho) — flat rice noodles in Vietnam's aromatic broth.
- Rice vermicelli — thin noodles in bun cha, spring rolls and salads.
- Sen lek / sen yai — Thai rice noodles of different widths, as in pad thai and pad see ew.
- Kway teow — flat rice noodles, stir-fried in char kway teow.
- Laksa noodles — thick rice noodles in Malaysia's laksa soups.
Buckwheat noodles
Soba in Japan, served hot or cold with dipping sauce, and naengmyeon in Korea, chewy cold noodles in icy broth — a summer classic. Many soba noodles also contain wheat, which matters for anyone avoiding gluten.
Starch noodles
Made from mung bean, sweet potato or other starches, these noodles turn translucent when cooked — hence "glass noodles". Korea's japchae uses sweet potato noodles stir-fried with vegetables; Chinese and Thai cooks use mung bean noodles in soups, salads and hot pots.
How to eat them
In Japan and much of East Asia, slurping noodles is normal and cools hot broth. In Central Asia, lagman is often eaten with a fork and spoon. In Thailand, noodles are typically eaten with fork and spoon or chopsticks depending on the dish, with a caddy of chilli, sugar, fish sauce and vinegar on the table to season your own bowl.
The bottom line
Noodles show how a single idea adapts to local grain, climate and taste. Search noodle dishes by country in our dish finder, and compare with Asia's other staple in Rice across Asia.
Questions readers ask
Are rice noodles gluten-free?
Pure rice noodles are naturally gluten-free, but sauces such as soy sauce often contain wheat. Ask about the whole dish if you avoid gluten.
What's the difference between ramen and udon?
Both are Japanese wheat noodles. Ramen noodles are thinner and made with alkaline water, which gives them a springy texture; udon are thick, soft and chewy.
