Glass noodles substitutes

The thick grey-brown Korean noodles used in japchae, made from sweet potato starch.

Best for

yum woon sen and other glass noodle salads, pad woon sen and stir-fries, hotpot and soups, dishes that sit before being eaten

The best match by a clear margin, because it is also a pure starch noodle and stays bouncy instead of going mushy. It is thicker and chewier, greyer once cooked rather than clear, and it needs actual boiling for 6 to 8 minutes rather than a soak. That extra durability is an advantage in a hot soup, where it holds up longer than glass noodles do.

Fine white rice flour noodles, the easiest swap to buy anywhere.

Best for

noodle soups, cold noodle salads, spring roll filling, supermarket-only shopping

This is what most people reach for, and it is worth knowing it is not the same texture. Rice vermicelli goes tender and slightly soft where glass noodles stay springy and slippery, it absorbs more dressing, and it snaps into short pieces when you toss it. Soak it in hot but not boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes and drain it while it still has a slight bite. Good in soups, less good in stir-fries where the bounce is the point.

Ready-to-eat, genuinely transparent noodles made from seaweed or konjac yam.

Best for

cold woon sen salads, low carbohydrate cooking, when you want the glassy look above all

These look more like glass noodles than anything else on the list, but they are crunchy-slippery rather than chewy, and they contain almost no starch, so they neither thicken a dressing nor soak up flavour the way mung bean noodles do. The dressing will sit on them and pool. Rinse shirataki well and dry-fry it in a hot pan for two minutes to drive off the packing liquid smell before using.

Other pure-starch Asian noodles, sold in the same aisle.

Best for

stir-fries, hotpot, anywhere you want maximum chew

Very close on the bouncy, slippery quality, and tapioca versions are even chewier than glass noodles. The catch is that pure starch noodles go from just right to gummy in under a minute, so taste them constantly and pull them early, then finish them in the sauce. Some also cloud rather than clear.

Very thin wheat noodles standing in structurally.

Best for

stir-fries when there is nothing Asian in the cupboard, brothy noodle bowls, feeding people who do not care about authenticity

Works fine as a vehicle for the sauce, but the dish changes character: these are opaque, wheaty and starchy, so you lose both the glassy look and the clean springy bite, and gain a soft gluten chew. Rinse them thoroughly in cold water after draining or they will clump into a solid mass. Not gluten-free, unlike real glass noodles.

Vegetable strands in place of noodles, for cold dishes only.

Best for

cold yum woon sen style salads, low carbohydrate eating, hot weather

Say what this is: not a noodle substitute but a different dish that borrows the dressing. It has no chew, no starch and a clear vegetable flavour, and it will release water into the bowl. Salt it for 10 minutes and squeeze it dry first, dress it right before serving, and never try it in a hot stir-fry, where it collapses.