Vermicelli

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vermicelli (Italian, ver-mih-CHEL-lee, literally, “little worms”) is a type of pasta, round in section and somewhat thinner than spaghetti.

Vermicelloni (ver-mih-chel-OH-nee, “thick vermicelli”) is less common, and about the same size as fedelini (also hard to find). Both are thinner than spaghettini (“thin spaghetti”).

In 14th-century Italy, extra-fine spaghetti had varying local names. "Master Barnaba da Reatinis from Reggio Emilia notes that Tuscan vermicelli are called orati in Bologne, minutelli in Venice, fermentini in Reggio and pancardelle in Mantua." [1]

The first mention of a vermicelli recipe is in the book De arte Coquinaria per vermicelli e maccaroni siciliani (The Art of Cooking Sicilian Macaroni and Vermicelli), compiled by the famous Maestro Martino da Como, unequalled in his field at the time and perhaps the first celebrity chef, who was the chef at the Roman palazzo of the papal chamberlain ("camerlengo"), the Patriarch of Aquileia. In Martino's Libro de arte coquinaria, there are several recipes for vermicelli, which can last two or three years (doi o tre anni) when dried in the sun.

Vermicelli is known as shemai in Bengali and seviyan in Hindi and Urdu. The noodles are used in a number of dishes, including a dessert of fried vermicelli in sweet boiled milk. Vermicelli is used in many parts of India to make a popular dish "Uppuma". The preparation method is simple: Boiling the dry oil roasted vermicelli with choice of vegetables, till it becomes a pasta.

The term rice vermicelli is often used to describe the thin, transparent rice noodles (米粉) popular in China, also known as bee hoon in Hokkien, mai fun in Cantonese, and Bun in Vietnamese.

The fideo is a type of noodle, popular in Mexican cuisine, often referred to in English as "vermicelli."