5 ways to eat rice noodles

5 ways to eat rice noodles, versatile, easy to cook with and delicious.

Noodles is such a fun a word and the mere mention of consuming noodles makes many a person's mouth water. In this article we are talking rice noodles; skinny ones, fat ones, slippery noodles and even deep fried noodles. The great thing about rice noodles, is that they are also gluten free and a healthier alternative to egg and wheat noodle varieties. To get you motivated to add more rice noodles in your life, here are 5 way to eat rice noodles.

1. Put rice noodles in soup

Simply soak rice noodles in your soup, the rest of the preparation is quite easy.

Rice noodles surrender to heat very easily, they do not need intense boiling and in no time at all you will have a slippery, tasty noodle, ready to consume.

2. Stir fry, saucy noodles

A typical yummy stir-fry noodle dish that is loved by many the world over, is Pad Thai. A combination of soft saucy noodles and crispy stir-fried noodle pieces wok cooked with fresh herbs and spices.

Stir fry dishes typically use rice noodles that are soaked for about 5min or until soft and then added to a hot wok or pan and combined with spices, sauces and proteins of your choice. Fried noodles are a perfect way to create a hearty, quick, and healthy one-dish meal with minimal effort.

3. Spring rolls- the hidden rice noodle

There are actually two ways you can enjoy rice when consuming spring rolls. You can add rice noodles inside your spring rolls and serve them fresh or fried but did you know that the paper used to wrap up these delicious delights is also rice paper! It is like a big, round, flat rice noodle and once the rice paper is soaked quickly in water, it softens up and is used to wrap up your ingredients into a rice roll, with fillings of your choice.

Typically a Thai spring roll ingredients includes chopped veggies, cooked pork or shrimp, rice noodles, herbs, and rice paper wrappers, eaten fresh or deep fried. However there are amazing rice roll recipes that include fresh fruits and also a nori hand roll variation, be creative and design your own summer rice roll recipe.

4. Use rice noodles in salads

Rice noodles add more depth to a salad, the possibilities are endless. There are so many international flavours that can be added to a rice noodle salad. Salad with fresh chopped vegetables, herbs and a zingy ginger lime dressing. If you like a heavier flavour in your rice noodle salad.

You could try a noodle salad with peanut sauce. This salad is great for creating your own 'Buddha bowl' by combining rice noodles, a large serving of crunchy veggies- cabbage, carrots, bell pepper and radish, peanuts, protein of your choice tossed it with satay peanut sauce. Such an awesome, healthy lunch option.

5. Sneaky sweet rice noodle treat

Sweet you say? Why yes, taking a leaf out of the old-school rice pudding book. If you are looking for a gluten free, vegan sweet treat, this is a great option.

Add your soft rice noodles to coconut milk, shredded coconut, cardamom powder and a sugar of your choice and stir until all ingredients are mixed well. Almost like a rice noodle pudding, it can be served hot or cold. You can also get creative and add fruits, nuts or different sweet spices to create your own flavoured sweet rice noodle dessert.