Rice noodles are gluten-free noodles made from rice flour and water, a distinct global staple wherever rice is the grain of choice — the flat, silky ribbons of Vietnamese pho and Thai pad thai, the fine vermicelli of bún and mifen, the wide sheets of he fen and chow fun. In their common dried form they are hard, brittle and translucent-white, softening in hot water into pale, glossy, slippery strands with a soft, tender, faintly springy bite. Plain they are mild and clean, barely sweet with a soft cooked-rice smell; like pasta their real job is texture and a neutral canvas that soaks up broth, sauce and seasoning, which is why the width of the noodle and its exact done-ness matter as much as anything in the bowl.