Bean Threads

Called by a host of lyric or irrelevant or misleading names in English, including glass noodles, cellophane noodles, silver noodles, Chinese vermicelli, transparent noodles, and long rice, these are dry, 1/32-inch thin, white or semiclear noodles made from mung bean starch. While still wet, the noodles are hung on bamboo poles to dry partway, then are folded into skeins to dry completely before packaging. Typically, the skeins are 5–6 inches long and weigh 2–3 ounces, though fatter, longer skeins weighing up to 8 ounces are occasionally sold in Chinatown markets. Skeins from Taiwan and Thailand generally weigh 2 ounces, and are packaged in cellophane, with red or pink rubber bands binding the skein; they can be purchased 8 skeins to a 1-pound net bag. Skeins from the People’s Republic of China are usually bound with string and packaged in small plastic bags sealed with a ribbon.