Glass noodles — also called cellophane noodles, bean-thread noodles, fensi or dangmyeon — are thin, translucent noodles made from mung-bean starch and water, a distinct starch-noodle staple across East and Southeast Asia. Dry they are stiff, wiry and glassy-white, sold in tight coiled bundles; cooked they turn almost completely clear, slippery and gelatinous with a springy, bouncy, faintly chewy bite quite unlike wheat or rice noodles. They have virtually no flavour of their own — mildly starchy at most — so their whole purpose is texture and thirst: they behave like a sponge, drinking up broth, soy, sesame and chilli, which is why they show up in soups, hotpots, stir-fries, spring rolls and cold salads across the region rather than as a dish in themselves.