Rice Vermicelli, mifen, beehoon, mifun or mai fun, is made with rice flour. White when cooked, mifen comes in very fine strands, finer than angel’s hair, which is the most popular size for soup or fried noodles.
This noodle also comes thicker–about the size of cooked spaghetti noodle. Rice noodles also come flat but have different names, he fen, hor fun or kway teow, which is the same as noodles used in Pad Thai and Vietnamese Pho.
Typically, the rice noodles in each package come in four panels. One panel of the noodle, about 5 ounces, will make enough noodle for two people.
My favorite brands are those featured above. The fine mifen from Hsinchu, Taiwan, is also well known.
Find rice vermicelli in Asian supermarkets. In the DC metropolitan area they are also available in many supermarkets.
Don’t get this confused with bean thread noodles, which is transparent when cooked. Compare the two. This transparent one below is bean thread noodle.
I have two ways to prepare rice vermicelli and it depends on whether I am using it to add to soup or frying it.
- When using it in soup noodles, or for filling in Summer Rolls, soak rice vermicelli in hot water for about 5-6 minutes until it is tender and be pressed flat. Do not soak for too long as it will become brittle and break into small pieces. When soaked this way, the noodle can be eaten.
- When using it to make fried noodles, soak rice vermicelli in cool water for 5-8 minutes until slightly softened. Allow it to continue cooking when noodle is added to frying pan and cooked with other ingredients and stock.
