Youmian () are a variety of
Chinese noodle
Chinese noodles vary widely according to the region of production, ingredients, shape or width, and manner of preparation. Noodles were invented in China, and are an essential ingredient and Staple food, staple in Chinese cuisine. They are an im ...
widely used in
Southern China, especially in the cuisines of
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
and
Guangdong
Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...
. It has also been selectively used in the dishes of
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, and
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
. Youmian is also used in some dishes in the
overseas Chinese
Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese.
Terminology
() or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, refe ...
communities.
Description
Thin noodles are generally made with
egg
An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...
s.
One well known variety of thin noodles is called
全 蛋 麵 (Cantonese
jyutping: cyun4 daan6 min6;
Pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: quán dà n mià n; translating roughly as "whole egg noodles"). This variety is almost exclusively found in
East and
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
, in regions with sizable Chinese populations.
Use in dishes
Preparation
Depending on the cuisine style, thin noodles may be
boiled with some type of
broth or
stir fried
Stir frying () is a cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred or tossed in a wok. The technique originated in China and in recent centuries has spread into other parts of Asia and th ...
in a
wok
A wok (; Pinyin: ; Cantonese ) is a deep round-bottomed cooking pan from China. It is believed to be derived from the South Asian karahi. It is common in China and similar pans are found in parts of East, South and Southeast Asia, as well as ...
.
List of use in dishes
Cantonese cuisine
*
Wonton noodle
Wonton noodles (, also called wanton mee or wanton mein) is a noodle dish of Cantonese origin. Wonton noodles were given their name, ''húntún'' (), in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE). The dish is popular in Southern China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, ...
*
Lo mein
*
Beef ball noodle
*
Fish ball noodle
*
Fish slice noodle
See also
*
Chinese noodles
*
Oil noodles
Oil noodles or cooked noodles is a type of Chinese noodle. It is sometimes used in Cantonese cuisine.
Production
Oil noodles are made of wheat flour, eggs, egg whites, salt, corn oil, and sodium benzoate. In Hong Kong, United States and Canada, ...
*
Saang mein
Saang mein is a type of Chinese noodle found in Hong Kong. It is often available in overseas Chinatowns.
Production
It is made of wheat flour, tapioca flour, salt, potassium carbonate, and water.Saang mein noodle packaging from Hong Kong.
Vari ...
{{Portal, Food
Chinese noodles
Cantonese cuisine
Hong Kong cuisine