February 6, 2022

Microwave Homemade Rice Noodles

Have you ever wanted to make a quick pad thai, and not had any rice noodles on hand? Or, perhaps you’re not able to find the size or shape of rice noodle you want (a problem I’ve had when making pad kee mao)? The answer is here- homemade rice noodles, made in the microwave! This recipe is not only vegan, but also gluten-free. You only need two basic ingredients, plus a little salt and water, and you’re ready to get started making rice noodles in the microwave.

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A New Approach for Homemade Pasta

I love making homemade pasta- the process of creating a dough, shaping that dough, rolling, cutting, cooking, and saucing noodles is not as challenging as it looks, but also super delicious. They have a different texture than dried pasta (honestly, both are great but they are different). All of the pasta I’ve made before though has been done with a dough, shaping that dough, and then boiling that pasta. This was the first time I’ve taken a different approach, by making a batter (also my first time trying a gluten-free noodle recipe). In case you’re wondering, the simple difference between a batter and a dough is how wet it is. A dough is more dry and can be molded. A batter is wet, and if you tried to shape it, it would simply run through your fingers. So to make noodles with a batter, you need to first cook it. And, since steaming is the method we’re going to use to get springy, soft, noodles, to the microwave we go! Homemade rice noodles are different to making homemade pasta, but the end result is just as satisfying.

Looking for Homemade Pasta Recipes? Try one of these!

Looking for Vegan Rice Noodle Recipes? Try one of these!

Looking for Rice Flour Recipes? Try one of these!

How to Make Homemade Rice Noodles (in the Microwave!)

Making rice noodles in the microwave is really easy, but also a little time consuming. Let’s start with the ingredients. The main ingredient is rice flour (not glutenous rice flour)- I’ve never tried it with brown rice flour, so I don’t know that it would work well. You will also need tapioca flour, which is sometimes also called tapioca starch. That will give your noodles a little bounce, and stop them from becoming brittle. The only other ingredients you need are salt, water, and a little vegetable oil to prevent your noodles from sticking.

To make your noodles, combine the ingredients and whisk together to make a batter. To cook them, you’re going to use two microwave-safe plates to create a little pocket of steam in your microwave, that will cook your noodles. You could also do this whole thing in a steamer, but I decided a microwave would be simpler. If you are able to, I recommend moving your microwave to a good workspace, since you’re going to be moving things in and out of it repeatedly for a while. Because of that, if your microwave is up high like mine is, setting it on your counter for this process will improve your life.

Add a small amount of batter to the bottom of one plate. You want enough to cover the bottom of the plate in a very thin layer, without going up the sides much. Put it in the microwave, and cover it with the second plate. Cook for 50 seconds, and then be careful as you remove the plates as they will be hot. Once they’re a little cooler, brush the noodle with vegetable oil to prevent them sticking, and roll it up and off the plate. You may need to loosen the edges first. Take a moment to make sure they’re going well- if the noodle is dry, brittle, and papery you either need to add more batter, cook them a little longer, or make sure the two plates aren’t gapping. If the noodle breaks as it comes off the plate, it is likely undercooked. You can cook it a little longer, or try a little less batter.

Once all your batter is used, you can cut the noodles to the size you are looking for, and then use them in whatever recipe you like! You do not need to cook these noodles more, but you can add them to a soup or stir-fry if you like.