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
This recipe does indeed work. I used it to make chow fun on for Christmas dinner. I was very nervous in reading comments but I put my faith in it and they were beautiful! I used a 24 quart steamer and a dual rack from my ninja foodi pressure cooker, along with a ninja crisper pan (has holes all over it)and two square cheap brownie tins.
I was careful to use the recommended thai rice flour, and bought the same brands tapioca starch. I also let the mix rest a full 30 minutes and stirred between each layer. I oiled the plate my noodle sheets were put on, and was careful to oil each new sheet liberally as they piled up. I left them whole and covered with plastic while I prepped for my chow fun and even took a few breaks. The noodles sat well oiled on the counter covered until after an hour+. When I was finished prepping and ready to go I cut strips that were about an inch and a halfish and seperated them on the oiled dish so they were ready to be gently laid into my pan for the stir fry. I had quite a few thicker noodles that were still in tact after the flipping through stage, and none dissolved or broke into less than a 3 inch length. They were perfect and I advise anyone to try them if you have the right Asian ingredients.
Thank you so much Judy for helping me make our Christmas dinner a huge success! We’re about to eat some left overs with the still nice and firm noodles! Lol
Thank you, D’anna, for trying out the recipe. And many thanks for your detailed steps.
Made this yesterday and it was so simple. I found it a little grainy when eating it as a soup noodle, do I need to boil them after I made them?
Hi Jennifer, make sure you stir it well and let the mixture sit so the flour has time to absorb moisture.
Do you find a certain brand of rice flour works better than others? I have a bag of Bob’s Redmill white rice flour but can try to get the one pictured if you think it makes a difference
Hi May, I have not used Bob’s so I don’t know how fine or silky it is. The one pictured might be more friendly to Asian recipes.
Hi I appreciate the recipe, loved it. It came out perfect.
Can I make a larger batch and freeze it?
I’m a student and would love the convenience, thank you.
I’ve never tried freezing these.
Victoria, I would definitely try freezing it and see what happens. I think you’d be fine. I once came across an established recipe author who recommended cutting [fresh store-bought] rice noodles and portioning them into individual containers to freeze for easy use later. To separate/cut them beforehand would make it much easier (otherwise it would freeze in a big chunk, is my guess).
Victoria and Anne, I use to buy the fresh noodles at the Asian market. It came in 1 big sheet that was folded with a lot of oil covering it. I would freeze these all the time and when I was ready to use them I would thaw out then put in microwave for like 30 seconds which would make them soft and very easy to unfold. Then I would cut them to the size I needed. Hope this is helpful.