a cooked egg-and-flour paste prominent in European and Oriental cuisine, generally distinguished from other pasta (q.v.) by its elongated, ribbonlike form. Noodles are commonly used to add body and flavour to broth soups. They are commonly boiled or sautéed and served with sauces and meats or baked in casseroles.

Oriental noodles are made primarily from starch ingredients other than flour, although the recipes for some Oriental pan-fried and stir-fried dishes allow the substitution of wheat-flour noodles for the Chinese mein. Noodles made from rice flour or the starch of the mung bean are softened in water, then boiled and drained, in preparation for being fried or added to soups.