They are called noodles in Asia and pasta in Europe, and although they look similar, they have different qualities.

Chinese and Japanese noodles tend to use softer wheat whilst pasta wheat is generally the harder, durum variety that grows in the Mediterranean region. Softer wheat gives noodles a lighter colour, a smoother, silkier feel and enables them to cook quickly, whilst harder durum wheat provides pasta with a more golden colour, a strong, elastic texture and a firmer bite.

To make noodles, dough is rolled into a sheet, as when making pastry, and then cut into long, thin ribbon-like strips, whereas pasta dough is extruded, much like squeezing a toothpaste tube, to produce either round lengths such as spaghetti or assorted shapes like tubes, shells and spirals.

Also, noodles generally contain salt, added to develop the softer protein and help bind the dough, whilst pasta is mostly salt-free. This means that noodles can be cooked without the need for extra salt. Most of the salt in noodles, however, passes into the water during cooking.

Noodles were traditionally served in a broth whilst pasta had a sauce added. Nowadays, though, fusion cooks are discovering all sorts of exciting new ways to prepare noodles, so why not let your imagination take flight!