Hi shivvy,
It's all really down to preference...cellophane(transparent) noodles (bean thread) are usually used in soups & braised dishes (they are put in warm water for about 5 minutes, before use..Wheat noodles or egg noodles are exactly that, (hard or soft) wheat flour, and if egg added labelled as egg noodles, flat ones generally used in soups and the rounded ones stir-fry, both can be purchased fresh or dried (similiar to Italian noodles)...Contradictory to what I said earlier, if fresh, these are normally cooked in boiling water for between 3-5 minutes until soft...dried ones can take a little longer 4-5 mins...if cooking ahead of time put these in a bowl, sprinkle with sesame oil, cover with clingfilm, refrigerate and use within 2 hrs for stir-frying etc.
Rice noodles (white, dried)sometimes flat (stick noodles) used in soups or stir-frys...these are soaked in warm water for 15 minutes, until soft.. Check the packaging for advice, most will suggest you rinse the noodles after (never before)cooking/infusing and some will even suggest cooling them in cold water till your ready to use them in whatever dish your preparing. Obviously, if you are serving them plain (like rice) there is no need to do this, drain from water and serve!
Personally I prefer the plain wheat or egg noodles, as I cook more stir-fry meals...having said that, rice noodles are nice used for seafood dishes, either stir-fry or soups...Cellophane are pretty tasteless, but are so fine and delicate that they do compliment soups and are good deep fryed to be used as a garnish...
It's best if you experiment, don't buy too many different ones at once, use them for different recipes, to see which you prefer for the type of meals your planning to cook...
If your planning on chow mein type dishes, then wheat or egg noodles are the ideal choice...they are probably used more than any other type of noodle, whatever the dish...
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