Reshteh (Persian noodles) substitutes

The standard substitution and the one Iranian cooks abroad make constantly. Snap the dry strands into short pieces and simmer them straight in the aash for the last ten to twelve minutes.

Best for

aash reshteh, any Persian noodle soup, reshteh polo (toast it first), weeknight cooking, supermarket availability

Two differences to correct for. Italian pasta is unsalted, so the soup tastes underseasoned unless you add salt for it. And durum semolina holds together more firmly and sheds less starch than reshteh, so the aash comes out thinner and less cloudy. Fix that by stirring hard at the end and mashing a ladleful of the cooked beans against the side of the pot.

Closer than dried Italian pasta in tenderness, and widely stocked. Use the flat ribbon type rather than the curly ones if you have a choice.

Best for

aash reshteh, a softer, more traditional mouthfeel, thickening the soup, cooking for children

Softer and slightly richer, with a faint eggy flavour that reshteh does not have. Egg noodles also break down more readily, so the soup thickens well but goes a shade paler and creamier and the noodles lose their ribbon definition if you overcook them. Add them a couple of minutes later than you would linguine.

Mechanically the closest match of all, because udon dough is salted like reshteh dough and it behaves the same way in liquid, going slippery and soft and clouding the broth.

Best for

soup texture, matching the salted-dough character, when you have an Asian grocer nearby

Since udon is already salted, do not add extra salt for it. The catch is the shape: udon is much thicker and squarer in cross-section, so every mouthful is bouncy and chewy where reshteh is a soft flat ribbon. The aash tastes right and eats slightly wrong. Cut the strands into two inch lengths to make it less obvious.

The best match for silky tenderness. Tear the sheets into rough short pieces rather than cutting them neatly, which is closer to how broken reshteh looks in the bowl.

Best for

the softest, most tender result, aash reshteh made in a hurry, when only fresh pasta is available

Fresh pasta cooks in three or four minutes and then keeps going, so in a soup that sits on the stove or gets reheated it turns to mush. Add it at the very end, off the heat if you are reheating. It also releases starch quickly, which is helpful for thickening but can make the aash gluey if you use too much.

Usable, and the most likely thing to already be in the cupboard. Break it into short lengths and cook it in the soup.

Best for

emergencies, very quick aash, when only round pasta is available

Round thin strands vanish into a thick herb soup, so you lose the visible ribbons of noodle that are half the appeal of aash reshteh, and the bowl looks and eats more like a bean soup with something in it. Flavour is fine. If it is a choice between this and no noodles, use it, but pick the thickest spaghetti you have.

For the rice dish rather than the soup. Break the pasta short and toast it in butter or oil in a dry pan until it turns a deep nutty gold, then steam it with the rice.

Best for

reshteh polo, Persian rice dishes, Nowruz cooking

The toasting is not optional and it is the step people skip. Untoasted, the rice just tastes like rice with boiled pasta in it; toasted, the noodles give the dish a warm, nutty, almost brown-butter aroma. Italian pasta is thinner than real reshteh and browns considerably faster, so keep the heat moderate and stir constantly or it will go from gold to burnt in under a minute.