Biang Biang Noodles substitute

Best substitute

Wide pappardelle, boiled soft

Use 4 oz / 115 g dry for every person, boiled 1 minute past al dente

Best for hot oil biang biang noodles

Different taste

Wide pappardelle is the answer and almost no new cook guesses it, because it is the only supermarket noodle anywhere near the right width: use about 4 oz dry per person and boil it a full minute past al dente so it goes properly soft and floppy. Fresh lasagna sheets torn by hand into inch-and-a-half strips are even closer, since the ragged edges are exactly what biang biang noodles have. And they are unusually easy to make yourself, because the noodles are meant to be uneven, so a hand-stretched batch is well within reach in about forty minutes.

Other biang biang noodles substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Fresh lasagna sheets, torn into strips by hand
Different taste
Use the same amount by cooked weight, roughly 4 oz / 115 g fresh sheets per person
Fresh pasta sheets ripped rather than cut into strips about an inch and a half wide.
What changes
Best for
biang biang noodles, hand-ripped noodle dishes, when you want the ragged edge
Better than pappardelle in one specific way that matters: tearing by hand instead of cutting gives you the frilled, uneven edges that catch chilli oil and go silky while the middle stays substantial. The dough is eggier and softer than a Xi'an flour-and-water noodle, so it tastes faintly richer and cooks in about two minutes. Tear them just before boiling and dust with flour so they do not stick together.
3Make them yourself
Close match
2 cups bread flour, ¾ cup water, ½ tsp salt serves 3 to 4
A simple flour and water dough, kneaded briefly, rested, oiled and then stretched and slapped into belts.
What changes
Best for
the actual dish, when nothing wide is available, cooking as entertainment
This is the honest best option, and easier than the internet suggests, because these noodles are supposed to look handmade and uneven. Knead five minutes, cover and rest at least thirty minutes and ideally an hour, then divide into pieces, flatten each into a thick tongue, oil generously and stack. Stretch, slap on the counter, and tear down the middle. The resting matters far more than the kneading: an under-rested dough snaps rather than stretching.
4Fresh or frozen knife-cut noodles (dao xiao mian)
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
Thick shaved Chinese wheat noodles, tapered at the edges and chewy in the centre.
What changes
Best for
biang biang noodles, cumin lamb noodles, when a Chinese grocery is nearby
Essentially a sibling of biang biang noodles from the same northern Chinese tradition, and the closest thing you can buy ready-made. Same flour-and-water dough, same uneven thick-centre-thin-edge cross-section, so the chew is right. They are narrower than a proper belt noodle, which means the dressing coats more evenly and the dish loses a little of its drama, but nothing about the flavour or texture is off.
5Wide flat rice noodles (gluten-free)
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by cooked weight
The widest fresh or dried rice ribbons available, sold as ho fun, kway teow or extra-wide rice sticks.
What changes
Best for
gluten-free biang biang style noodles, chilli oil noodles
The width is right, which is worth a lot, but the texture is the opposite of what these noodles are about: soft and slippery instead of chewy and elastic. They also tear if you toss them hard, and their slick surface means the hot chilli oil slides off and collects at the bottom of the bowl. Soak dried ones rather than boiling them, toss gently with tongs, and add a little extra sesame paste or soy so the dressing has some body to grip with.
6Thick udon, split lengthwise
Close match
Use One 7 oz / 200 g pack for every person
Fresh or frozen thick Japanese wheat noodles, sliced down the middle to widen the strand.
What changes
Best for
when only udon is available, chilli oil noodles
The chew is genuinely close, since udon is also soft non-alkaline wheat, but even split it is nowhere near belt width. That matters practically rather than aesthetically: the whole point of a wide noodle is enormous surface area for the chilli oil, and narrow strands let the dressing pool at the bottom of the bowl instead. Split them, dry them off well, and use a little less oil with a little more sesame paste to help it cling.
7Dried lasagna noodles snapped into strips (last resort)
Taste and texture differ
Use 4 oz / 115 g dry for every person, boiled 90 seconds past the packet time
Flat dried lasagna sheets broken lengthwise into rough ribbons.
What changes
Best for
when the cupboard has nothing else
It works and it is the right width, but say the honest thing: dried lasagna is stiff and thick, and the ruffled-edge kind holds onto too much dressing at the frills while the flat middle stays bare. Snap the sheets lengthwise before boiling, cook them well past al dente so they slacken, and stir gently because dry sheets crack rather than fold. Better than nothing, worse than pappardelle.

What is Biang Biang Noodles?

Biang Biang Noodles is Biang biang noodles are very wide, thick hand-stretched wheat noodles from Xi'an, slapped against the counter and torn into belt-like ribbons an inch or two across, closely related to hand-pulled noodles and knife-cut dao xiao mian.

Cooking tips

Biang biang noodles want a very short cook, ninety seconds to two minutes in furiously boiling water, until they float and turn glossy. They keep cooking on the way to the table, so pull them a shade early.
Do not rinse them. The clinging surface starch is what makes hot oil and vinegar coat every strand instead of sliding off and pooling, and rinsing is the most common reason a home version tastes underdressed.
The hot oil step is not just a way of warming the dressing. Pour oil heated until it shimmers over the raw garlic, chilli flakes, ground cumin and Sichuan pepper piled on the noodles, so the aromatics bloom on contact. Stirring cold chilli oil through instead leaves the dish tasting raw and flat no matter which noodle you used.
If you make your own, the rest is more important than the kneading. Thirty minutes minimum, an hour is better. A dough that has not relaxed will tear and snap back when you stretch it, and no amount of extra kneading fixes that.
Serve in a wide shallow bowl. Belt noodles piled into a deep bowl compact under their own weight and the dressing never reaches the middle, which is why restaurant portions always look flat and spread out.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use pappardelle instead of biang biang noodles?

Yes, and it is the best answer available in an ordinary supermarket, because pappardelle is the only widely sold noodle close to belt width. Use about 4 oz dry per person and boil it a full minute past al dente, because biang biang noodles are soft and yielding rather than firm and the extra minute closes most of the gap. What pappardelle cannot copy is the uneven cross-section, thick and chewy in the centre and thin at the torn edges, but the dressing does most of the talking anyway.

Can I buy biang biang noodles dried?

Rarely, and this is exactly why substitution interest is so high for them. The noodle is defined by being hand-stretched, and drying a belt that thick gives a brittle, unevenly cooking product, so most producers do not bother. You will occasionally find frozen hand-pulled or knife-cut noodles in Chinese groceries, which are the closest thing to buy. Otherwise the choice is between wide Italian ribbon pasta and making them yourself, and making them is genuinely not hard.

Are hand-pulled and knife-cut noodles the same as biang biang noodles?

They are close relatives from the same northern Chinese tradition, and all three use a plain flour, water and salt dough with no alkaline salts or egg. Hand-pulled noodles are stretched thin and round or oval. Knife-cut noodles are shaved off a block of dough, so they are thick in the middle and tapered at the edges. Biang biang noodles are stretched wide and flat into belts and often torn in two. Any of them will make a good bowl of Xi'an style chilli oil noodles.

Do I need special flour to make them?

No special flour, but bread flour is noticeably better than all-purpose because the extra protein gives you the elastic, springy chew these noodles are known for. All-purpose works and makes a softer noodle. What matters far more than the flour is resting the dough for at least thirty minutes so the gluten relaxes, and oiling the flattened strips generously before you stretch them so they release from each other and from your hands.

Can I make them without a stand mixer?

Yes, and by hand is the normal way. This dough is deliberately stiff and only needs about five minutes of kneading, because the resting period does most of the gluten development for you. Mix the flour, water and salt into a shaggy mass, knead until it holds together smoothly, then cover and walk away for half an hour to an hour. If it still feels tight when you come back, rest it another twenty minutes rather than fighting it.

Related substitutes

More pasta & noodles substitutes

Biang Biang Noodles substitute

Other biang biang noodles substitutes

2Fresh lasagna sheets, torn into strips by hand

3Make them yourself

4Fresh or frozen knife-cut noodles (dao xiao mian)

5Wide flat rice noodles (gluten-free)

6Thick udon, split lengthwise

7Dried lasagna noodles snapped into strips (last resort)