# Showing my ignorance: What's the difference between pasta and "noodles" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2013, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547 "2013-10-29T12:58:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547/21 "2013-10-29T16:44:56Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > This is the best so far. Pasta doesn’t usually contain eggs; Dried pasta usually doesn’t. Fresh pasta usually does. I consider pasta and noodles all part of the same concept. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547/22 "2013-10-29T16:54:12Z")
Put it this way. I consider pasta to be Italian(style) noodles. ---
**Author:** ![BrianJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/54ee81/32.png) [@BrianJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianJ)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547/23 "2013-10-29T17:44:26Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > I’ve bought fresh spaghetti-like noodles and dried egg noodles, some shaped like thin fettucine, some gathered into little nests, some very thin and delicate. I’ve seen lots of thicknesses of ffesh and dried egg noodles in [HMart](http://www.hmart.com/), but i don’t know what to do with most of them! 🙂 I think the nest ones are soup noodles. In restaurants I’ve had noodle soup, with wonton dumplings or veggies etc, using those noodles. > [@pulykamell](#): > > Put it this way. I consider pasta to be Italian(style) noodles. I agree spaghetti noodles, macaroni, etc are pasta ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547/24 "2013-10-29T19:59:57Z")
n/m I think I misunderstood. Yes, I would consider all those pasta. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547/25 "2013-10-31T01:31:40Z")
I thought this was the old joke I heard in Boston’s North End long ago- The answer to the OP is “About $6 a plate!” ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547/26 "2013-10-31T02:24:30Z")
> [@Motorgirl](#): > > I’ve bought fresh spaghetti-like noodles and dried egg noodles, some shaped like thin fettucine, some gathered into little nests, some very thin and delicate. I’ve seen lots of thicknesses of ffesh and dried egg noodles in [HMart](http://www.hmart.com/), but i don’t know what to do with most of them! 🙂 boil 'em. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547/27 "2013-10-31T03:18:31Z")
“Noodles” are just a description of a general shape, long, generally thin (and sometimes thick), round or flat. Difficult to stab with a fork, best eaten when spun around a utensil or sloppily slurped. They can be made from all sorts of starches, sometimes with other ingredients added, and are often called “_ **starch name** _” noodles depending on the material. The only exception I can really think of is “spaghetti.” But that may be a mostly Italian and subsequently American thing, as “spaghetti” is inherently pasta, meaning made from semolina or durum wheat flour. My favorite are mung bean noodles (saifun), also called glass or cellophane. I make them with peanut sauce for a quick and filling lunch or dinner. I put the noodles in a bowl of very hot water, then make the sauce in a pan. Peanut butter, water, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, sriracha, sesame oil. By the time the sauce comes together and starts to bubble, the noodles are done. Drain them and dump them into the pot with the peanut sauce, use tongs to pull the noodles apart and mix with the sauce. Dump into a bowl, and if not in any company that matters, slurp until full, belch and compliment the chef. Reheats well if any is left over. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547/28 "2013-10-31T03:32:37Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > “Noodles” are just a description of a general shape, long, generally thin (and sometimes thick), round or flat. Difficult to stab with a fork, best eaten when spun around a utensil or sloppily slurped. I don’t completely disagree, but I think, in the US at least (as Wikipedia seems to indicate UK usage is a little more restricted), the term “noodle” is a little broader than that. Growing up, the egg noodles tended to be quite broad and definitely forkable (that sounds a bit naughty), and I’ve certainly heard people refer to lasagna sheets as “lasagna noodles” ([to wit](http://www.motherthyme.com/2011/11/lasagna-with-homemade-lasagna-noodles.html)). Plus macaroni as noodles. It may depend on your location, though, kind of how certain pockets of the US refer to tomato sauce (or at least certain types of tomato sauce) for pasta as “gravy.” ---
**Author:** ![NiceGuyJack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/niceguyjack/32/3069_2.png) [@NiceGuyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NiceGuyJack)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547/29 "2013-10-31T04:46:32Z")
Has anyone here actually been to Asia? Lumping all the varieties of Asian Noodles into one single definition is like saying all fruits are apples. Italian pasta generally has the same ingredients and differs mainly by shape. Asian Noodles vary in shape and ingredients. And true, Mein is the Chinese word for Noodles, but it is the generic word for all Noodles, and the Chinese would include Italian pasta as mein, and yes this word varies from dialect and languages. The commonly known mein as in Lo Mein and Chow Mein is Cantonese. In Mandarin it’s Mian. Shanghainese = Min. Malay = Mee. Korean = Myun. Japanese = Men. Vietnamese = Mi. On and and on. And in all of those languages, it’s the generic term for Noodles, including Italian Pasta. Following I’ll list some more specifics so you get a sense of the scope we are talking about here: Asian Wheat Noodles: (wheat flour, salt, water, and sometimes eggs and flavorings). • Dan Mien = Chinese Egg Noodles (Often used in stir fries and a variety of dishes including Lo Men and Chow Mien. Also comes in a vast variety of shapes used for different cooking). • Ganmien = Chinese Wheat Noodles (Mostly used for soups. Also comes in a variety of shapes. Different shapes will also have different names). • Yi Mien = e-fu Noodles (Flat Egg Noodles). • Gook Soo =Korean Wheat Noodles (Long and flat resembling fettucine). • Hiyamugi = Japanese Wheat Noodles (Long and slender often served cold). • Hokkien Mee = Singapore Noodles (Wheat and eggs. Thick yellow often stir fried). • Mi Chay = Vietnamese Wheat Noodles (Looks like a birds nest). • Misua = Filipino Wheat Noodles (Very slender like Angel hair pasta). • Pancit = Flour Sticks (Wheat and coconut oil. Used for traditional Filipino dish Pancit). • Ramen = Japanese take on Chinese Wheat noodles. • Somen = Japanese wheat noodles. (Very thin and often served cold). • Udon = Japanese wheat noodles. (Very thick noodles served mostly in soups). • Wonton = Chinese Soup noodles. Asian Rice Noodles: (Made with rice flour) • Laksa Noodles = Looks like white spaghetti. Used in a variety of Laksa dishes in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. • Ban pho, Hor fun, Sen lek, Kway teow = Medium rice Noodles which come in different widths. The different names are in order; Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, Malay. (Used in a vast variety of dishes). • Rice stick noodles. Again different names given in different countries. Used in a vast number of dishes. • Rice Vermicelli. Different names given all over Asia. Again used in all kinds of dishes • And more… Other Asian Noodles (This is where it gets interesting). • Agar Noodles = Made from algae. Originally invented by the Japanese 400 years ago, but now found all over Asia. • Arrowroot Noodles = Made from Arrowroot starch. Korean and Vietnamese food. • Bean Curd Noodles = AKA Tofu noodles. Rubbery noodles used all over Asia. • Bean Curd Skin Noodles = Used mainly in China, but can also be found elsewhere. • Cellophane Noodles = So named as they are almost transparent. Made from Mung Beans and found mainly in China and South East Asia. • Cornstarch Noodles. = Pancit luglug. Filipino Noodles. • Harusame = Similar to Cellophane Noodles, but made of potato. Japanese noodles. • Dangmyun = Korean Noodles made with Sweet potatoes . • Buckwheat Noodles = Made with Buckwheat flour. In Japanese it’s Soba. In Korea it’s Naengmyon, but the Koreans also add potato starch in theirs. • Seaweed Noodles = Made of Seaweed. Found in China, Korea and Japan. • Shirataki = Japanese noodles made from Devil’s Tongue Yams. Used in Sukiyaki. • Hu Tieu Bot Loc = Vietnamese Tapioca Noodles. Made from tapioca starch. This is not a complete list, but you get the general idea. The variety and ingredients are extensive, so comparing Italian Pasta to “Asian Noodles” isn’t really possible. It’s just ignoring the variety there is in Asia. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547/30 "2013-10-31T04:51:00Z")
> [@NiceGuyJack](#): > > This is not a complete list, but you get the general idea. The variety and ingredients are extensive, so comparing Italian Pasta to “Asian Noodles” isn’t really possible. It’s just ignoring the variety there is in Asia. I’m not sure about everyone else, but I’m lumping all those things under “noodles.” I personally use “noodle” in a very broad sense to encompass all those things. (The “fruit” in your “fruit/apple” analogy.) Or maybe we’re making the same point. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547/31 "2013-10-31T05:04:17Z")
Right. There are many different kinds of noodles, and they are all noodles. The wrong kind of noodle can make for a very weird, even bad, dish. There are many different kinds of apples, and they are all apples. The wrong kind of apple can make for a very weird, even bad, pie. I think we’re all saying the same thing just not agreeing on how to say it, because it’s complicated, this noodle stuff. Just don’t take my saifun away! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547/32 "2013-10-31T05:21:38Z")
What’s the difference between pasta and noodles? Oh, about 10 bucks. ---
**Author:** ![NiceGuyJack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/niceguyjack/32/3069_2.png) [@NiceGuyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NiceGuyJack)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547/33 "2013-10-31T05:30:50Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’m not sure about everyone else, but I’m lumping all those things under “noodles.” I personally use “noodle” in a very broad sense to encompass all those things. (The “fruit” in your “fruit/apple” analogy.) Or maybe we’re making the same point. I think we are actually. Maybe I should have said comparing Italian Pasta with Asian Noodles is like comparing apple to fruit, wherein the pasta is the apple and noodles being fruit. Does that make sense? ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547/34 "2013-10-31T05:42:42Z")
Don’t forget _alimentary paste_! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547/35 "2013-10-31T05:48:56Z")
> [@NiceGuyJack](#): > > I think we are actually. Maybe I should have said comparing Italian Pasta with Asian Noodles is like comparing apple to fruit, wherein the pasta is the apple and noodles being fruit. > Does that make sense? Yep. Agreed here. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547/36 "2013-10-31T05:57:58Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > Don’t forget _alimentary paste_! Ah, that’s right. The FDA has a [strict definition](http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=139.150) for noodle products: > [@](#): > > Noodle products are the class of food each of which is prepared by drying formed units of dough made from semolina, durum flour, farina, flour, or any combination of two or more of these, with liquid eggs, frozen eggs, dried eggs, egg yolks, frozen yolks, dried yolks, or any combination of two or more of these, with or without water and with or without one or more of the optional ingredients specified in paragraphs (a) (1) to (4) of this section inclusive: > > [snip] So no eggs, no noodles. Or no flour, no noodles. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547/37 "2013-10-31T06:01:51Z")
Western pasta tends to only come in two varieties: - Fresh pasta made from soft wheat flour and egg - Dried pasta made from hard wheat flour and water Asian noodles have way more diversity, including using non-wheat starches such as rice, mung bean, tapioca & potato. But among just the wheat based noodles, there’s a few predominant styles (I’m only counting traditional styles and not industrial mimics): - Fresh pasta made from soft wheat flour and water (white noodles like udon) - Fresh pasta made from soft wheat flour and egg (wonton wrappers and ravioli skins are basically the same dough around different fillings) - Fresh pasta made from soft wheat flour and alkaline water (yellow noodles like lo mein) - Dried pasta made from soft wheat flour and water (ramen noodles) - Dried pasta made from soft wheat flour and alkaline water (chow mein noodles) ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547/38 "2013-10-31T12:54:35Z")
Chinese 拉面 _lāmián_ (literally ‘pull noodle’) has been influential across Central Asia. In Uzbekistan the most popular dish is of noodles known as _lag’mon_, pronounced /læɣmɒn/. In Kazakh it’s called _laghman_, pronounced /lɑʁmɑn/. In Uyghur the noodles are called either _läghmän_—pronounced /læɣmæn/—or _längmän_, pronounced /læŋmæn/. All these are derived from Chinese _lamian_. The odd thing is how the first syllable in the Central Asian languages ends in a velar consonant, either -gh or -ng, even though in Chinese 拉 _lā_ was historically pronounced “lap.” How the labial /p/ sound turned into a velar is a puzzlement. In Korean, for example, the Chinese word for ‘pull’ preserves the /p/ sound: 랍 _nap_. In Vietnamese, the same Chinese character [拉](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E6%8B%89) was used to write syllables ending in -p. As for the Central Asian languages, all I can guess is anticipatory [dissimilation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissimilation) preceding the labial sound of /m/ in 面 _mián_, unlikely as that seems. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547/39 "2013-10-31T14:55:55Z")
> [@NiceGuyJack](#): > > I think we are actually. Maybe I should have said comparing Italian Pasta with Asian Noodles is like comparing apple to fruit, wherein the pasta is the apple and noodles being fruit. > Does that make sense? I’d say that pasta and asian noodles are both subsets of noodles. One is apples, the other pears. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547/40 "2013-10-31T16:38:58Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Ah, that’s right. The FDA has a [strict definition](http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=139.150) for noodle products: > > So no eggs, no noodles. Or no flour, no noodles. Oh, and just to be clear (although it should be from the rest of the thread), the FDA definition is _not_ one that I use when talking about noodles. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/showing-my-ignorance-whats-the-difference-between-pasta-and-noodles/672547.md?page=3)