Recipe: Silver Pin Noodles

I always thought these noodles were a family dish, because we only made it if we had leftover dough from making Toisanese steamed dumplings. Toisanese-style dumplings are rare as they are, and you’d have trouble looking for a recipe on the internet. Which is why I never thought twice about the handmade noodles from excess dough being just our own thing. They would even get creative, and make little animals out of the dough, like ducks. As kids, we would get a kick out of eating the more creative ones.

Silver pin noodles, silver needle noodles, or the less appetizing name lou shi noodles (rat tail noodles) are more common than the Toisanese dumplings, and there are several varieties out there. While mine is made with a tapioca + wheat starch dough, other recipes call for a combination of rice flour, cornstarch and tapioca starch. I’m sure every variation produces a slightly different texture, but I’m making it the way my mom and grandmother did.

The texture is like a softer version of a rice cake (nian gao) or tteokbokki.

As for the sauce, I’m re-creating from memory, and adding butter to finish it. Butter and soy have been a favorite combination lately because it rounds out the flavors.