ASIAN NOODLE Editor—Gur Ranhotra Volume XX, Issue 12 December, 1998 ASIAN NOODLE TECHNOLOGY Guoquan Hou, Ph.D Mark Kruk And Asian Food Specialist Laboratory Manager Wheat Marketing Center Portland, OR 97209 INTRODUCTION cess, contributing to the noodle texture. The sheeted dough Wheat flour noodles are an important part in the is then slit to produce noodles. The noodles are now ready diet of many Asians. It is believed that noodles origi- for sale, or are further processed to prolong shelf life, to nated in China as early as 5000 BC, then spread to modify eating characteristics or to facilitate preparation by other Asian countries. Today, the amount of flour used the consumer. In the preparation of instant fried noodles, for noodle making in Asia accounts for about 40% of the steaming process causes the starch to swell and the total flour consumed. In recent years, Asian noodles gelatinize. The addition of alkaline salts (kan sui, a mixture have also become popular in many countries outside of of sodium and potassium carbonates) in some Chinese type Asia. This popularity is likely to increase. This bulletin noodles gives them a yellow color and a firmer, more is written to provide information on formulation, elastic texture. processing technologies, and other related aspects of Asian noodles. CLASSIFICATION OF ASIAN NOODLES There is no systematic classification or nomenclature ASIAN NOODLES VERSUS PASTA for Asian noodles; wide differences exist between Asian noodles are different from pasta products in countries. There is a need to standardize noodle ingredients used, the processes involved and their nomenclature using a universal classification system. consumption patterns. Pasta is made from semolina Classification below is based on the current state of the (coarse flour usually milled from durum wheat) and knowledge. water, and extruded through a metal die under pressure. It is a dried product. After cooking, pasta is often eaten Based on Raw Material with sauces. Asian noodles are characterized by thin Noodles can be made from wheat flour alone or in strips slit from a sheeted dough that has been made combination with buckwheat flour. Wheat flour noodles from flour (hard and soft wheats), water and salt— include Chinese and Japanese type noodles. There are common salt or alkaline salt. Noodles are often many varieties in each noodle type, representing different consumed in soup. Eggs can be added to each product formulation, processing and noodle quality characteristics. to give a firmer texture. Asian noodles are sold in many Noodles containing buckwheat are also called soba, forms (discussed later). meaning buckwheat noodle. These noodles are typically light brown or gray in color with a unique taste and flavor. THE BASICS Chinese type noodles are generally made from hard Wheat flour is the main ingredient for making wheat flours, characterized by bright creamy white or Asian noodles. About three parts of flour are usually bright yellow color and firm texture. Japanese noodles are mixed with one part of salt or alkaline salt solution to typically made from soft wheat flour of medium protein form a crumbly dough. The dough is compressed (discussed later). It is desirable to have a creamy white between a series of rolls to form a dough sheet. The color and a soft and elastic texture in Japanese noodles. gluten network is developed during the sheeting pro- The information contained in this publication is true and accurate to the best of our knowledge. However, since conditions are beyond our control, nothing contained herein should be construed as a recommendation, guarantee, or warranty, either expressed or implied by the American Institute of Baking. Neither should the mention of registered brand names be construed as an endorsement of that product by the American Institute of Baking. Material contained in this publication copyrighted, 1998, by the American Institute of Baking. Subscriptions can be ordered from the Institute by writing the American Institute of Baking, 1213 Bakers Way, Manhattan, KS 66502, or calling 1-800-633-5137, www.aibonline.org. Based on Salt Used Based on the absence or presence of alkaline salt in TABLE I the formula, noodles can be classified as white NOODLES BASED ON WIDTH (containing salt) noodles or yellow (containing alkaline salt) noodles. Alkali gives noodles their characteristic Name Characteristics yellowness. White salt noodles comprise Japanese So-men Very thin, 0.7-1.2 mm wide noodles, Chinese raw noodles or dry noodles. Chinese Hiya-mughi Thin, 1.3-1.7 mm wide wet noodles, hokkien noodles, Cantonese noodles, Udon Standard, 1.9-3.8 mm wide chuka-men, Thai bamee, and instant noodles fall under Hira-men Flat, 5.0-6.0 mm wide the yellow alkaline noodle category. noodle making. Noodle machines are best suited to mass Based on Size production. According to the width of the noodle strands, Japa- Noodle processing operations include mixing raw nese noodles are classified into four types (1) (Table I). materials, dough sheeting, compounding, sheeting /rolling Since the smaller size noodles usually soften faster in and slitting. This series of processes remains constant hot water than the larger size, so-men and hiya-mughi among countries for all noodle types. Noodle strands are noodles are usually served cool in the summer, and further processed to produce different kinds of noodles, udon and hira-men are often eaten hot in the cool and this can be a means of classification (Table II). seasons. Other noodle types also have their own typical None of the approaches discussed above are sufficient size. to define each noodle type. For instance, boiled noodles contain fully cooked and parboiled types. Parboiled types Based on Processing include both hokkien and Chinese wet noodles. In addition, The simplest way to classify noodles based on wet noodles are parboiled in most of Asia, but are fresh, processing is hand-made versus machine-made noodles. uncooked noodles in Japan. Therefore, a possible This is too generalized, however. Hand-made types, nomenclature should incorporate key aspects such as still available in Asia because of their favorable texture, formulation and basic processing to fully describe the were prevalent before the automatic noodle machine nature of each noodle type. was invented in the 1950s. In some places, stretching noodles by hand is considered an art rather than TABLE II NOODLE CLASSIFICATION BASED ON PROCESSING Noodle Type Processing Fresh - Noodle strands coming out of slitting rolls are cut into certain lengths for packaging without any further processing. Typical examples are Chinese raw noodles, udon noodles, chuka-men, Thai bamee, Cantonese noodles and soba noodles. These are often consumed within 24 hours of manufacture due to quick discoloration. Their shelf life can be extended to 3-5 days if stored under refrigeration. Dried - 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. Boiled - Fresh noodle strands are either parboiled (90% complete cooking) or fully cooked. This type includes: Chinese wet noodles, hokkien noodles, udon noodles, and soba noodles. After parboiling, Chinese wet noodles and hokkien noodles are rinsed in cold water, drained and coated with 1-2% vegetable oil to prevent sticking. Boiled udon and soba noodles are not coated with oil. Boiled noodles are re-cooked for another 1-2 minutes before serving. Steamed - Fresh alkaline noodle strands are steamed in a steamer and softened with water through rinsing or steeping. This type is also called “Yaki-Soba”, and it is often prepared by stir-frying for consumption. Page 2 WHEAT USED IN NOODLES make desirable color noodles. The presence of the Sources enzyme polyphenol oxidase (PPO) in the flour is believed to be partially responsible for noodle dark- The key noodle wheat growers and suppliers are ening. Thus, it may be useful to measure the activity of the United States, Australia and Canada. In the US, this enzyme in the wheat. hard red spring, hard red winter, soft red winter, and Wheat protein content is often determined, and soft white wheats are used—alone or blended—for gluten strength can be evaluated by a sedimentation making noodle flour. A new wheat class—hard white— test. Different noodle types require different protein has been expanding in production in recent years, contents and dough strength (discussed later). Gen- targeting Asian products such as noodles and Chinese erally speaking, Chinese type noodles need hard wheat steamed breads apart from Western foods. Australian of high protein content and strong gluten, and Japanese wheat has been known for decades for its superior noodles require soft wheat of medium protein content. performance in Japanese type noodle making because it gives desirable noodle color and unique texture. Flour Quality Characteristics Australian standard white, Australian premium white, Australian hard, Australian prime hard, and Australian The above discussion of wheat sources and quality noodle wheat are major types of noodle wheats. Canada requirements provides a valuable yardstick in aiming western red spring, Canada western red winter, Canada for desired flour quality. However, each noodle type prairie spring white and Canada prairie spring red requires its own specific flour quality criteria. Table III wheats are also competitive in noodle production. In lists flour specifications for various types of Asian many cases, different classes of wheat are often blended noodles. Flour protein, ash content and flour-pasting to achieve relatively consistent quality noodle flour. characteristics are major specifications. Protein content Due to the complexity of noodle types (discussed later), varies according to the noodle type to achieve the there is no single wheat type that can meet all quality desired eating quality.