After Bill posted his Homemade Cheung Fun recipe a while back, I have been wanting to post this homemade rice noodle recipe.
It’s perfect for stir-fried rice noodle dishes like Beef Chow Fun. But this recipe is mostly for readers who don’t live near an Asian market. If you do live near an Asian market, we advise that you save yourself some time and simply buy the pre-made fresh rice noodles in the refrigerated section of the Asian market.
But if you don’t have access to a ready supply of fresh noodles, we hope you find this recipe useful!
How to Use Homemade Rice Noodles
These rice noodles are ready to eat after steaming. You can stir fry them or put them in noodle soups. We’ve included some awesome applications for you to consider:
- You can use these noodles in our popular 15-minute chicken red curry noodle soup. Just slice them more thinly.
- Add some blanched leafy greens and minced garlic to make my all-time favorite: You Po Mian.
- Another crowd pleaser is Pho (Vietnamese Noodle Soup). Again, just slice them more thinly.
- You can also just make our homemade chili oil and toss the rice noodles with a spoonful of chili oil, some soy sauce, and sesame oil.
Important Recipe Tips
Normally, my cooking instructions are short and sweet. The instructions here, however, are a bit more detailed. While these noodles are actually quite easy to make, they require a little more attention to detail to make sure things go smoothly. To set you up for success, here are some key points:
- The key is to prevent the rice noodle sheets from sticking together. Each layer (as well as the surfaces that the rice noodles touch) should be brushed lightly with oil.
- You will need two flat-bottomed pans (a baking pan or a Pyrex pan). One pan is good enough, but with two, you will get the job done faster, which is always good.
- When adding the rice mixture to the flat-bottomed pan, make sure the pan is sitting on top of the boiling water. On water, the pan is fully level, so the sheet of noodle will come out with an even thickness. The pan I used is 7×7 inches, and I made 7 sheets of noodles with this recipe which is about two servings.
- Rice flour settles, so be sure to stir the rice mixture well every time before adding it to the pan.
Rice Noodles: Recipe Instructions
Add the rice flour, tapioca starch (or cornstarch), salt and water to a mixing bowl. Mix and dissolve everything together well. Add 1 teaspoon of oil, and strain the liquid through a fine-mesh strainer into another bowl. Cover the liquid and let rest for 30 minutes.
While the mixture is resting, fill your wok (make sure that your flat-bottomed pan fits comfortably inside first!) with water. If you don’t have a wok, use a large, deep cooking vessel with a wide opening and a lid. Bring the water to a boil. (You might need to add more water throughout the cooking process. The goal is to have the pan float on top of the boiling water.)
Brush a light coating of oil on the bottom of the flat-bottom pan, put the pan on top of the boiling water, and add a 1/4 cup of the rice liquid to the pan. Tilt it a little so the rice liquid covers the bottom of the pan.
Now, cover with the pot/wok lid and cook on high heat for 5 minutes. If the flat bottom pan you use has a thicker bottom, e.g., Pyrex, increase the cooking time to 7 or 8 minutes. While it’s cooking, brush the second pan lightly with oil.
After 5 minutes, remove the lid, take out the 1st pan, and set aside. Put the 2nd pan on top of the water in the wok, add a ¼ cup of the rice mixture. Tilt it a little so the rice liquid evenly covers the bottom, cover, and let cook.
While it’s cooking, attend to the first pan. We’re going to lift the noodle sheet out and place it onto a cutting board. Brush the cutting board with a thin layer of oil to prevent sticking. Then, use a rubber spatula to loosen all sides of the sheet of noodle, and slowly lift it up and off the pan. Lay it flat on your cutting board.
By now, your second pan is probably ready. Remember to brush the first layer with a thin layer of oil before layering the second sheet on top to prevent sticking.
Now brush the bottom of the 1st pan with some oil and get ready to make your 3rd batch. Repeat the above steps until all of the rice noodle batter is gone. Once all of the noodle sheets are made, I cut the noodle sheets into 1/3-inch wide pieces, but feel free to cut them in whatever sizes and shapes you like. I then toss the noodles, loosening each layer to separate them. Now the rice noodles are ready to be used!
You can store these noodles in the refrigerator for a day or two. They might harden slightly, but they should bounce back nicely once heated. Enjoy your homemade noodles!
Here’s another easy serving suggestion: just mix the noodles with a bit of chopped raw garlic, chopped scallions, soy sauce, sesame oil, and black vinegar to taste!
Homemade Rice Noodles
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups rice flour
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch (or cornstarch)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1¼ cups water
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil (plus more for brushing)
Instructions
- Add the rice flour, tapioca starch (or cornstarch), salt and water to a mixing bowl. Mix and dissolve everything together well. Add 1 teaspoon of oil, and strain the liquid through a fine-mesh strainer into another bowl. Cover the liquid and let rest for 30 minutes.
- While the mixture is resting, fill your wok (make sure that your flat-bottomed pan fits comfortably inside first!) with water. If you don’t have a wok, use a large, deep cooking vessel with a wide opening and a lid. Bring the water to a boil. (You might need to add more water throughout the cooking process. The goal is to have the pan float on top of the boiling water.)
- Brush a light coating of oil on the bottom of the flat-bottom pan, put the pan on top of the boiling water, and add a 1/4 cup of the rice liquid to the pan. Tilt it a little so the rice liquid covers the bottom of the pan.
- Now, cover with the pot/wok lid and cook on high heat for 5 minutes. If the flat bottom pan you use has a thicker bottom, e.g., Pyrex, increase the cooking time to 7 or 8 minutes. While it’s cooking, brush the second pan lightly with oil.
- After 5 minutes, remove the lid, take out the 1st pan, and set aside. Put the 2nd pan on top of the water in the wok, add a ¼ cup of the rice mixture. Tilt it a little so the rice liquid evenly covers the bottom, cover, and let cook.
- While it's cooking, attend to the first pan. We're going to lift the noodle sheet out and place it onto a cutting board. Brush the cutting board with a thin layer of oil to prevent sticking. Then, use a rubber spatula to loosen all sides of the sheet of noodle, and slowly lift it up and off the pan. Lay it flat on your cutting board. By now, your second pan is probably ready. Remember to brush the first layer with a thin layer of oil before layering the second sheet on top to prevent sticking.
- Now brush the bottom of the 1st pan with some oil and get ready to make your 3rd batch. Repeat the above steps until all of the noodle batter is gone. Once all of the noodle sheets are made, I cut the noodle sheets into 1/3-inch wide pieces, but feel free to cut them in whatever sizes and shapes you like. I then toss the noodles, loosening each layer to separate them. Now the rice noodles are ready to be used!
- You can store these noodles in the refrigerator for a day or two. They might harden slightly, but they should bounce back nicely once heated. Enjoy your homemade noodles!
Tips & Notes:
nutrition facts
With a metal pan, one to three minutes was sufficient; otherwise it begins to get overdone (ends curl up, gets dry/hardened on top, and may eventually crack). Once water is boiling, reduce to a simmer. Very small yield. If using for pad see ew recipe, for example, would need to triple or quadruple. Grateful for the opportunity to try homemade rice noodles – I appreciate you posting.
Hi Joy, please note to use a lot of water in the steamer, as the hot steam keeps the rice noodles moist. I wonder if that’s the problem that some readers are having. I wish I could be in their kitchens with them :-|
Has this recipe been tested? I (like all the other reviewers) followed the recipe exactly and I (like all the other reviewers) came out with a disgustingly dry top and noodles that easily broke.
This is not the first time I followed a recipe from The Woks of Life that was a total flop. What a waste of ingredients each time.
Hi Elon, you must follow the recipe closely – the photos don’t lie. Would be good to ask constructive and specific questions rather than ranting which may be why Judy skipped over your many comments.
This is for readers to look elsewhere for a more trust worthy recipe with less failed comments. There are better recipes with thinner and smoother noodles.
No Leon, this recipe hasn’t been tested. That’s why there’s photos of every single step of the recipe. They’re clearly all fake photos.
PEBKAC
Hi is it ok to use corn flour as that’s all I have only rice flour and corn four thanks a lot
Hi Rowena, I have not tried it with corn flour, but it should work. Give it a try with half of the recipe.
This did not work at all for me and I’m not sure why. It came out cracked and dry before the suggested time, but even when I took it off before that it wasn’t even strong enough to hold its own weight (the same happened when I took it off at and after the suggested time)
Hi Kai, there must be some problem with your ingredients. Please recheck them again and let me know if you have any questions :-)
the same thing happened to me also，they are so dry and cracked and they just brake. does anyone have any idea why？
Okay, so I made rice noodles and didn’t even use tapioca flour. I left the batter for 15 mins before steaming. Also make sure the steam plate doesn’t block steam from circulating.
Thanks for the recipe. Can these be used to make pad Thai?
Should be able to, Anthony.
How can I dry and preserve the rice noodles for later use.
Can I make these in a steam oven?
Recipe had great flavor but my noodles fell apart. I have the correct ingredients and the noodles looked great until I tried cooking them. They fell apart and turned into mush. Luckily the dish still tasted great, just not pretty.
Thank you for trying out the recipe. I know these rice noodles can be tricky!
When I saw this recipe, I was very excited because I love making my own wheat noodles for confessed and Italian recipes. I tried it tonight to make pad kee mao, and while it was good, it wasn’t two hours worth of effort good. Making things worse, my rice sheets always came out with one end too thick and the other so thin it tore apart even though I had my pan floating in my wok. Guess I’ll stick with dried noodles
Hi Keith, I hear your frustration. For anyone else who is reading this comment, make sure the water is not at a rolling high boil when the pan hits the water, and adjust the heat so the batter has a chance to sit on a flatter surface.
Well, an interesting experiment, but I’m not likely to repeat it. I followed the recipe very closely, made sure to stir the batter as instructed, but my noodles had a cracked surface, broke apart on handling, and were mostly too thick. Most importantly, they lacked the distinctive chew one expects from ho fun.
I’ll use dried noodles from now on if I can’t buy fresh ones. Now, what to do with the rest of the rice flour?
Hi Cheryl, please check, there might be a problem with your ingredients.