Silver needle noodles
Encyclopedia
Yin Zhen Fen, Lao Shu Fen or Silver needle noodle is a variety of Chinese noodles
Chinese noodles
Noodles are an essential ingredient and staple in Chinese cuisine. There is a great variety of Chinese noodles, which vary according to their region of production, ingredients, shape or width, and manner of preparation...

. It is short, about 5cm long and 5mm in diameter. It has a white semi-transparent colour. The noodle is available in many Chinese markets
Wet market
A wet market is generally an open food market. Some of the common names include "Cultural Markets", "traditional markets", "Gaai Si", "Gaai See".-Terminology:...

 in Chinese populated areas such as Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

, Malaysia and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

.

Names

Quite a number of names have been used to describe the noodle. The noodle is more commonly known as "silver needle noodle" (银针粉) in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and "rat noodle" (老鼠粉) in Malaysia and Singapore. The noodles are named as such because the shape of the noodles is long and tapered much like a rat's tail or a needle.

Production

The noodles are made from ground rice flour
Rice flour
Rice flour is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye....

 but sometimes added with some cornstarch
Cornstarch
Corn starch, cornstarch, cornflour or maize starch is the starch of the corn grain obtained from the endosperm of the corn kernel.-History:...

 to reduce breakage during frying. As with most Chinese noodles, they are commercially produced and seldom homemade as it is too tedious to make a small amount for home consumption.

Preparation

The noodles may be stir-fried, scalded and flavored with a mixture of sauces, cooked in soup or cooked dry in a clay-pot. As with most Chinese noodles, it can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner as a main course or supplementing a rice meal. Many Chinese restaurants, hawkers
Hawker (trade)
A hawker is a vendor of merchandise that can be easily transported; the term is roughly synonymous with peddler or costermonger. In most places where the term is used, a hawker sells items or food that are native to the area...

and roadside stalls serve the noodle in various forms. One of the famous dishes that can be found widely in Southeast Asia is Clay-Pot Lao Shu Fen. The purpose of using clay-pot is to keep warmth of the dish and make the dish look more appetizing.
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