While rice noodles often take the spotlight in Thai cuisine, the bean thread noodles known as woonsen hold a place of importance in the Thai kitchen as well. Read on to learn more about these versatile noodles and how they're used in Thai cooking.
Explore any Thai pantry and you're sure to find a package of dried bean thread noodles known as woonsen. They may be hidden behind mounds of dried rice noodles, but I can assure you, they're there! These staple noodles play an important role in Thai cuisine and are used in many different recipes, from noodle soups to clay pots to salads.
Although these noodles are simply known as woonsen in Thai, they go by many different names in English - bean thread noodles, glass noodles, cellophane noodles, and mung bean noodles to name a few! Keep reading to take a closer look at this lesser-known but essential Thai ingredient.
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What are Woonsen Noodles?
Woonsen are thin noodles made of mung bean starch. They are therefore often referred to as mung bean noodles or bean thread noodles. When they are in their dried form, they are an opaque white. Once cooked, they transform into soft, slippery noodles that are transparent. This is presumably how these noodles came to also be known as glass noodles or cellophane noodles.
In Thai, these noodles are known as woonsen (วุ้นเส้น). Woon (วุ้น) is the Thai word for jelly. You might recognize it from this jelly-like Coconut and Pandan Agar dessert. Sen (เส้น) is the Thai word for line, and when used in cooking terms, it refers to noodles. So Woon Sen literally translates to "jelly-like noodles" in Thai.
How are Woonsen Noodles Made?
Woonsen noodles are made by mixing mung bean starch with water, then cooking the mixture until it turns into a thick, gel-like, translucent paste. This paste is then poured into molds and allowed to firm up before it is cut into thin noodles. The noodles are then dried and packaged.
How to Rehydrate Woonsen Noodles
Dried woonsen noodles are opaque white and somewhat brittle. Before use, they need to be rehydrated in warm water. Simply place the bundle of dry noodles in a bowl of warm-ish tap water. Allow the noodles to soak for 5-10 minutes, until they are soft and pliable. They are now ready to use in your recipe.
What do Woonsen Noodles Taste Like?
Woonsen noodles do not have much flavor on their own, but they're great at soaking up other flavors. This makes them the ideal noodle to use in salads, soups, and stir fries where they can really absorb the flavors they're surrounded by.
Thai Dishes that Use Woonsen Noodles
Woonsen noodles play a prominent role in several popular Thai dishes. Yum Woonsen is a bright and fresh salad featuring these glass noodles topped with shrimp, ground pork, and roasted peanuts. Pad Woonsen is a classic home-cooked dish of bean thread noodles stir fried with savory seasoning sauces, eggs, veggies, and protein of your choice. Goong Ob Woonsen is a clay pot packed with bean thread noodles, shrimp, and pork belly that have been infused with ginger and black pepper.
Because bean thread noodles don't break or get mushy as quickly as rice noodles, they hold up well in soups such as Gang Jeud and Sukiyaki. They're also used to make Suki Haeng, a dry stir fried noodle version of Thai sukiyaki. Some people also use glass noodles in stir fries that are traditionally made with rice noodles, such as Pad Thai, as woonsen are easier for beginner cooks to work with.
Where can I find Woonsen Noodles?
Woonsen noodles are commonly sold at Asian grocery stores. You can find them online as well, and depending on your area, perhaps even at mainstream grocery stores. They are most often labelled as "bean thread noodles" or "bean thread vermicelli". Look for a brand with 100% mung bean starch for the highest quality. You should also be careful to choose a Thai brand (such as Kaset or Pine) as "glass noodles" from other cuisines are made from sweet potato starch instead of mung bean starch.
Nutritional Value of Glass Noodles
Thai glass noodles, known as woonsen, are made of mung bean starch and water. The mung bean starch is carbohydrate rich, with approximately 35 grams of carbohydrates per serving. Although they are made from mung beans, there is no appreciable protein in these noodles. They also have no fat and no cholesterol. Because they are made from mung bean starch, Thai glass noodles are naturally gluten-free and vegan.
Substitutes
Although Thai bean thread noodles are similar in appearance and texture to Korean and Japanese glass noodles, they are not interchangeable. As Korean / Japanese glass noodles are made with sweet potato starch, they require different cooking times than bean thread noodles.
Storage
Woonsen are sold in their dried form, and will last for many months stored in the pantry at room temperature. Once they've been cooked, you'll want to store the bean thread noodles in the refrigerator and finish them within several days. Woonsen noodles withstand the heat of the microwave well for reheating.
While woonsen noodles may not be at the forefront of your mind when thinking of Thai food, they are an indispensable part of Thai cuisine. Their soft yet pliable texture, great ability to soak up flavors, and resilience in soups and stir fries makes these transparent noodles an important ingredient in the Thai kitchen.
FAQ
Pad Thai and Pad Woonsen are both stir fried noodle dishes from Thailand. That's about where the similarities end, however. Pad Thai features rice noodles cooked with a sweet and sour sauce, along with tofu, shrimp, bean sprouts, garlic chives, and peanuts. Pad Woonsen features bean thread noodles cooked with a savory sauce, chicken, and a medley of vegetables. In addition, Pad Thai is meant to be eaten as a stand-alone dish while Pad Woonsen is often served as part of a family meal.
Woonsen noodles are made from mung bean starch. They are therefore naturally fat free, cholesterol free, and gluten free. These noodles do contain a decent amount of carbohydrates, however, with no appreciable protein.
Woonsen is the Thai word for bean thread noodles. These noodles are also known as glass noodles, cellophane noodles, or mung bean noodles or vermicelli. In Thai, woon means jelly and sen means line, referring to the straight line of a noodle. Therefore, woonsen translates most closely to jelly-like noodles.
Woonsen noodles are made of mung bean starch and water.
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