Silver needle noodles

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銀針粉

银针粉

Literal meaning:

silver needle noodle

Transliterations
Mandarin
- Hanyu Pinyin:	yín zhēn fěn (yin2 zhen1 fen3)
Min
- Min-nan POJ:	Niao Chu Hoon
Yue (Cantonese)
- Jyutping:	ngan4 jam1 fan2

alternative Chinese name

Traditional Chinese:

老鼠粉

Simplified Chinese:

老鼠粉

Literal meaning:

rat noodle

Transliterations
Mandarin
- Hanyu Pinyin:	lǎo shǔ fěn (lao3 shu3 fen3)
Yue (Cantonese)
- Jyutping:	lou5 syu2 fan2

Yin Zhen Fen, Lao Shu Fen or Silver needle noodle is a variety of Chinese noodles.^[1] It is short, about 5cm long and 5mm in diameter. It has a white semi-transparent colour. The noodle is available in many Chinese markets in Chinese populated areas such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore.

1 Names
2 Production
3 Preparation
4 References
5 See also

[edit] Names

Quite a number of names have been used to describe the noodle. The noodle is more commonly known as "silver needle noodle" (银针粉) in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and "rat noodle" (老鼠粉) in Malaysia and Singapore. The noodles are named as such because the shape of the noodles is long and tapered much like a rat's tail or a needle.

Lao Shu Fen
Yin Zhen Fen
Short Rice Noodle
Lou Syu Fan
Ngan Jam Fan
Loh See Fun
Mee Tai Bak

[edit] Production

The noodles are made from ground rice flour but sometimes added with some cornstarch to reduce breakage during frying^[1]. As with most Chinese noodles, they are commercially produced and seldom homemade as it is too tedious to make a small amount for home consumption.

[edit] Preparation

Fried Lao Shu Fen / Fried Yin Zhen Fen / Fried Short Rice Noodles

The noodles may be stir-fried, scalded and flavored with a mixture of sauces, cooked in soup or cooked dry in a clay-pot. As with most Chinese noodles, it can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner as a main course or supplementing a rice meal. Many Chinese restaurants, hawkers and roadside stalls serve the noodle in various forms.