23 Rice Noodle Recipes to Slurp Right Up
Yes, all of these rice noodle recipes contain a star ingredient (the rice noodles)—you’ll also see “rice sticks,” “rice vermicelli,” or “vermicelli noodles” on packaging at your local grocery store—but there’s so much variety within the category. The rice noodle canon is as expansive as it is delicious, and it’s worthwhile to learn the actual noodle names if you don’t already know them.
A few of our go-tos: Bánh pho, flat rice noodles that are medium width, are good for slurping from a bowl of soup. Chinese ho fun, known as kway teow in Southeast Asia, are extra-wide and chewy, perfect for pan-fried rice noodle dishes. Thin Hsinchu mifen is the key to a great noodle stir-fry. And there are so many more we don’t have room to list them all—so let’s take a break to actually cook some of them. Here are our best rice noodle recipes—plus one easy bonus recipe to get you started, Singapore noodles.
Photo by Heami Lee, food styling by Judy Haubert, prop styling by Rebecca Bartoshesky1/23Instant Pot Beef Pho
You don’t need a wok to brown the onions in this rice noodle recipe; everything happens right in the Instant Pot. You do need to spend some time gathering accompaniments to be served alongside the soup: thinly sliced onion, scallions or green onions, bean sprouts, fresh herbs, lime wedges, and sriracha or hoisin sauce.
Photograph by Cody Guilfoyle, Prop Styling by Nicole Louie, Food Styling Thu Buser2/23Bánh Cuốn With Pork, Shrimp, and Mushrooms
Photo and Food Styling by Andy Baraghani4/23Coconut Green Curry With Mushrooms and Chickpeas
You don’t need to rush to the store for curry powder or paste. Make your own via this recipe by simply blitzing cilantro stems, ginger, garlic, shallots, and green chiles in a food processor or blender, then sizzling the purée in vegetable oil.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Micah Morton, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime5/23Spicy Braised Eggplant Noodles
Photograph by Isa Zapata. Food Styling by Kat Boytsova. Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca6/23Vegan Pho
This vegan pho broth gets its rich, umami-packed flavor from a medley of well-toasted spices, charred veggies, dried mushrooms, and miso for a soul-edifying soup.
Photograph by Cody Guilfoyle, Prop Styling by Nicole Louie, Food Styling by Thu Buser7/23Citrusy, Peanutty Pork With Rice Noodles
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Sophie Strangio8/23Chicken Soup With Rice Noodles and Scallion Crisp
Bone-in chicken breasts are the key to making this dish weeknight-friendly. The key to keeping your noodles clump-free and not overcooked? Drain them and rinse them in cold water.
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Emily Eisen9/23Rice Noodles with Cashew Sauce and Crunchy Veg
This rice noodle recipe calls for either tamari or soy sauce. For those who might not know the difference, they’re both by-products of fermented soybeans, but tamari, which is a Japanese soy sauce, is usually gluten-free while other Asian soy sauces typically contain wheat. By the way, feel free to riff on this recipe. Don’t have carrots or radishes but do have bell peppers and zucchini? Use them!
Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Amy Wilson10/23Peanut Rice Noodles with Pork and Collard Greens
This one goes out to all the peanut sauce fans out there. And trust us: Putting sugar in your noodles for this recipe is crucial. It balances the salt, heat, fat, and tanginess in this dish.
Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Amy Wilson11/23Rice Noodles al Pomodoro With Chili Oil
Photo by Heami Lee, food styling by Judy Haubert, prop styling by Rebecca Bartoshesky12/23Pad See Ew With Chicken
Chinese broccoli, or gai lan, has long, tender stalks that cook in just two minutes—but, yes, you can substitute regular florets or broccolini if you prefer. They’re all high in calcium and potassium, and all delicious.
Photo by Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Amy Wilson13/23Coconut Rice Noodles with Ginger and Turmeric
Alex Lau14/23Rice Noodles With Shrimp and Coconut-Lime Dressing
Those looking for low-sodium dishes should say hello to fish sauce. Some food technologists say that using it in place of salt can reduce sodium chloride levels by about 25 percent.
Alex Lau15/23Weeknight Red Curry
A few shortcut ingredients (canned tomatoes, store-bought curry paste) yield a gently spiced, deep-flavored dinner that’s ready in under an hour.
Alex Lau18/23Summer Rolls
This recipe comes with a method for making dipping sauce, which is just a mixture of sugar, water, lime juice, mirin, soy sauce, and rice vinegar, but you can serve these summer rolls with whatever you want. Straight-up oyster sauce your thing? Go for it. Craving chili garlic sauce? Let yourself have it.
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Chris Morocco, prop styling by Emily Eisen19/23Weeknight Steak and Rice Noodle Salad
This meal-worthy salad recipe hits all the elements we crave: spice from the chiles, heartiness from the beef, crispy crunch from fresh veg, and sweetness from the honey.
Alex Lau21/23The Greenest Coconut Curry with Clams and Rice Noodles
This rice noodle soup gets its velvety richness from coconut cream and its dose of vitamin C from fresh lemongrass stalks.
Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Molly Baz, Prop Styling by Emily Eisen23/23Brothy Noodle Bowl with Mushrooms and Chiles
This rice noodle recipe relies almost entirely on pantry staples to build depth of flavor in the broth: dried shiitake mushrooms, kombu, chiles de árbol, and turmeric.
