Vermicelli#South Asia
{{Short description|Type of pasta}}
{{For-multi|the Asian noodles|Rice vermicelli|the chocolate|Sprinkles}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Vermicelli
| image = Fideo (coiled vermicelli).JPG
| image_size = 250px
| caption =
| alternate_name =
| country = Italy
| region = Campania
| creator =
| course =
| type = Pasta
| served =
| main_ingredient =
| variations =
}}
Vermicelli ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|v|ɜːr|m|ɪ|ˈ|tʃ|ɛ|l|i|,_|-|ˈ|s|ɛ|l|i}},{{Cite American Heritage Dictionary|vermicelli|access-date=23 July 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/vermicelli|title=Vermicelli|work=Collins English Dictionary|publisher=HarperCollins|access-date=23 July 2019|archive-date=23 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723064847/https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/vermicelli|url-status=live}}{{Cite Merriam-Webster|vermicelli|access-date=23 July 2019}} {{IPAc-en|UK|ˌ|v|ɛər|m|ɪ|ˈ|tʃ|ɛ|l|i}};{{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/vermicelli |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305161904/https://www.lexico.com/definition/vermicelli |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-03-05 |title=vermicelli |dictionary=Lexico UK English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press}} {{IPA|it|vermiˈtʃɛlli|lang}}, literally "little worms"), is a traditional type of pasta round in section similar to spaghetti. In English-speaking regions it is usually thinner than spaghetti,{{cite web | author = Dictionary.Com | title = Vermicelli | publisher = Random House Diciontary | url = http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vermicelli?&path=/ | access-date = 2012-08-27 | archive-date = 7 March 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160307214527/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/vermicelli | url-status = dead }} while in Italy it is thicker. It is typically made with semolina.{{cite web|access-date=2020-05-03|title=Vermicelli Voiello|url=https://www.voiello.it/site/pasta/vermicelli|language=it|website=Voiello|archive-date=25 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925105321/https://www.voiello.it/site/pasta/vermicelli|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Vermicelli n° 170|website=Pasta De Cecco|url=https://www.dececco.com/it_it/product/vermicelli-n-170/|language=it|access-date=2020-05-03|archive-date=16 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416175534/https://www.dececco.com/it_it/product/vermicelli-n-170/|url-status=live}}
Thickness comparison
As defined in Italy, the diameters of spaghetti-like pasta are:
;vermicelli : between {{convert|2.08|and(-)|2.14|mm|in}}, with little variation between different producers.{{cite web |title= Vermicelli Barilla |url= http://it.barilla.com/content/prodottobarilla/vermicelli |access-date= 3 August 2011 |archive-date= 25 April 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130425041428/http://it.barilla.com/content/prodottobarilla/vermicelli |url-status= dead }}{{cite web |title= Vermicelli DeCecco |url=http://www.dececco.it/EN/Semolina-Pasta/Traditional-range/Long-Shapes/vermicelli-170/?Prodotto=13 |access-date= 3 August 2011 |archive-date= 27 August 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110827014722/http://www.dececco.it/EN/Semolina-Pasta/Traditional-range/Long-Shapes/vermicelli-170/?Prodotto=13 |url-status= dead }}
;spaghetti : between {{convert|1.92|and(-)|2.00|mm|in}}.{{cite web |title= Spaghetti |url= http://www.dececco.it/EN/Semolina-Pasta/Traditional-range/Long-Shapes/spaghetti-12/?Prodotto=7 |access-date= 15 September 2011 |archive-date= 8 July 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150708004936/http://www.dececco.it/EN/Semolina-Pasta/Traditional-range/Long-Shapes/spaghetti-12/?Prodotto=7 |url-status= dead}}
;{{lang|it|vermicellini}} : ({{lit|thin {{lang|it|vermicelli}}}}) between {{convert|1.75|and(-)|1.80|mm|in}}.{{cite web |title= Vermicellini DeCecco |url= http://www.dececco.it/IT/Pasta-di-Semola/Linea-Base/Formati-Lunghi/vermicellini-169/?Prodotto=12 |access-date= 3 August 2011 |archive-date= 1 October 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151001104024/http://www.dececco.it/IT/Pasta-di-semola/Linea-Base/Formati-Lunghi/vermicellini-169/?Prodotto=12 |url-status= dead }}
;{{lang|it|fedelini}} : between {{convert|1.37|and(-)|1.47|mm|in}}.{{cite web
|title= Fedelini DeCecco USA |url= http://www.dececcousa.com/Pasta/Long-Shapes/Fedelini-10/?Product=40 |access-date= 3 August 2011 |archive-date= 5 September 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150905115107/http://www.dececcousa.com/Pasta/Long-Shapes/Fedelini-10/?Product=40 |url-status= dead}}
;capellini or {{lang|it|capelli d'angelo}} : ({{lit|little hair}} or {{gloss|angel's hair}}) between {{convert|0.8|and(-)|0.9|mm|in}}.{{cite web |title= Capellini DeCecco USA |url= https://www.dececco.com/us_us/product/angel-hair-no-9/ |access-date= 3 August 2011 |archive-date= 28 March 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120328114750/http://www.dececcousa.com/Pasta/Long-Shapes/Capellini-9/?Product=33 |url-status= dead}}{{cite web |title= De Cecco - Nests - Angel hair 209 |url= http://www.dececcousa.com/Pasta/Nests/Angel-hair-209/?Product=32 |access-date= 3 August 2011 |archive-date= 8 March 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120308042117/http://www.dececcousa.com/Pasta/Nests/Angel-hair-209/?Product=32 |url-status= dead }}
In the United States, the National Pasta Association (which has no links with its Italian counterpart, the {{lang|it|Unione Industriali Pastai Italiani}}{{cite web |title= UNIPI - Unione Nazionale Industriali Pastai Italiani |url= http://www.unipi-pasta.it/ |language= it |access-date= 12 September 2011 |archive-date= 3 September 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110903211842/http://www.unipi-pasta.it/ |url-status= live }}) lists vermicelli as a thinner type of spaghetti.{{cite web |title= Pasta shapes |url= http://www.ilovepasta.org/shapes.html |access-date= 12 September 2011 |archive-date= 3 September 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110903014203/http://www.ilovepasta.org/shapes.html |url-status= dead}}
The Code of Federal Regulations of the United States of America{{CodeFedReg|21|139|110}} defines spaghetti and vermicelli by diameter:
;vermicelli : less than {{convert|0.06|in|mm}}.
;spaghetti : between {{convert|0.06|and(-)|0.11|in|mm}}.
History
File:Vermicelli with a lemon-pecorino fonduta with fennel fronds and bottarga.jpg
In 14th-century Italy, long pasta shapes had varying local names. Barnabas de Reatinis of Reggio notes in his {{lang|la|Compendium de naturis et proprietatibus alimentorum}} (1338) that the Tuscan vermicelli are called {{lang|it|orati}} in Bologna, {{lang|it|minutelli}} in Venice, {{lang|it|fermentini}} in Reggio, and {{lang|it|pancardelle}} in Mantua.{{cite book |last= Ortolani |first= Cristina |title= L'Italia della pasta |year= 2006 |publisher= Touring |isbn= 978-88-365-2933-9 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lBtACd1H-LcC&q=compendium+de+naturis+et+proprietatibus+alimentorum&pg=PA9 |language= it}}
The first mention of a vermicelli recipe is in the book {{lang|it|De arte Coquinaria per vermicelli e maccaroni siciliani}} (The Art of Cooking Sicilian Macaroni and Vermicelli), compiled by the famous Maestro Martino da Como, unequalled in his field at the time and perhaps the first celebrity chef, who was the chef at the Roman palazzo of the papal chamberlain ({{lang|it|camerlengo}}), the Patriarch of Aquileia. In Martino's {{lang|it|Libro de arte coquinaria}}, there are several recipes for vermicelli, which can last two or three years ({{lang|it|doi o tre anni}}) when dried in the sun.{{cite web |title= Libro de Arte Coquinaria Composto per lo Egregio Maestro Martino Coquo Olim del Reverendissimo Monsignor Camorlengo et Patriarcha de Aquileia |url= http://www.uni-giessen.de/gloning/tx/martino2.htm |language= it |access-date= 3 August 2011 |archive-date= 28 January 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110128231147/http://www.uni-giessen.de/gloning/tx/martino2.htm |url-status= live }}
Vermicelli in other countries
=Middle East and East Africa=
Vermicelli, called {{Transliteration|ar|shaʿīriyya}} ({{lang|ar|شعيرية}}) in Arabic, is used in one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Egypt and the Levant. The vermicelli is browned by frying it with oil or butter, then rice and water are added.
In Somalia, it is used in a sweet dish called {{Transliteration|so|cadriyad}}, originating from the Yemeni {{Transliteration|ar|ʿaṭriyah}} ({{lang|ar|عطرية}}). The vermicelli is browned by frying it with butter, then water, sugar, and cardamom are added until it has softened slightly. The dish is similar to the Indian sheer khurma; however, no milk or cream is added. Bananas can also be added on top. It is usually eaten as a dessert or as a side-dish with Somali spiced rice dishes.
{{Transliteration|so|Cadriyad}} is also a common dessert in certain parts of Ethiopia, particularly in the Arab-influenced Harar-ghe region, where it is known as {{Transliteration|ar|attriya}} and is served cold, often with a thin layer of custard on top.
=Iberia=
Possibly due to the Umayyad influence,{{cite book |last= Colman |first= Andrew |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-K_ekX6BVXsC&pg=PA196 |title= Catalan Cuisine: Vivid Flavors from Spain's Mediterranean Coast |date= 3 December 2005 |isbn= 9781558323292}} Spain and Portugal use a type of vermicelli called {{lang|pt|aletria}}. It is mostly used for soups or desserts. In modern-day Portugal, {{lang|pt|aletria}} usually refers to a dessert similar to a rice pudding, but replacing the rice with {{lang|pt|aletria}}.
=The Americas=
File:Q & Q vermicelli (fideo) from O.B. Macaroni Company 001.jpg
The {{lang|es|fideo}} is a type of noodle, produced in Europe since medieval times, best known as {{lang|ca|fideus}} or fidelis, which spread to Mexican and Latin American cuisine, and is often referred to by speakers of English as "vermicelli". A short noodle, typically a few centimeters in length at most, it is commonly used in chicken soup and in {{lang|es|sopa seca}}, a type of side dish.
=South Asia=
File:Vermicelli or Sewai.jpg, a popular dessert in South Asia]]
File:Vegetable and Vermicelli from India.jpg
In countries of the South Asia, vermicelli is available either as long strands or cut into about {{convert|2|cm|in|adj=mid|-long|0}} pieces. Vermicelli is known by various local names such as: {{Transliteration|sd|sewiyun}} in Sindhi; {{Transliteration|te|semya}} ({{lang|te|సేమ్యా}} or {{lang|te|సేమియా}}) in Telugu; {{Transliteration|ta|sémiya}} when made with wheat, and {{Transliteration|ta|sevai}} when made with rice in Tamil; {{Transliteration|ml|semiya}} in Malayalam; {{Transliteration|kn|shavige}} in Kannada; {{Transliteration|as|sewoi}} in Assamese; {{Transliteration|bn|shemai}} in Bengali; {{Transliteration|hi|seviyan}} in Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi; {{Transliteration|mr|shevaya}} in Marathi; {{Transliteration|or|simei}} in Odia; {{Transliteration|gu|sev}} in Gujarati; and {{Transliteration|tcy|semige}} in Tulu. The noodles are used in a number of dishes, including a variation of {{Transliteration|hi|kheer}}, called sevaya or seviyan, a sweet dessert similar to rice pudding. Vermicelli is also used in many parts of India to make a popular dish called {{Transliteration|hi|upma}}. To prepare it, dry oil-roasted vermicelli and pre-sauteed vegetables such as onions, carrots, French beans, peas, etc. are cooked together with enough water that can be absorbed by the vermicelli. Roasted cashews or peanuts are used as garnish.
In Bangladesh, vermicelli is generally cooked with milk and consumed as a sweet dessert.
Other noodles called "vermicelli"
In English, the Italian loanword {{lang|it|vermicelli}} is used to indicate different sorts of long pasta shapes from different parts of the world, but mostly from South or East Asia.
Central Asian {{Transliteration|tr|kesme}} and Persian {{Transliteration|fa|reshteh}} also resemble vermicelli. {{Transliteration|fa|Fālūde}} or {{Transliteration|fa|faloodeh}} is a Persian frozen dessert made with thin vermicelli noodles frozen with corn starch, rose water, lime juice, and often ground pistachios.
In East and Southeast Asia, the term vermicelli is used to translate four different types of noodles. Rice vermicelli can refer to a thin dried type of rice noodle ({{lang-zh |c= 米粉 |p= mǐfěn |cy= mai fun}}; Hokkien: {{Transliteration|nan|bí-hún, bee hoon}}; {{langx|th|เส้นหมี่|sen mi}}; {{langx|my|ၾကာဆံ|kya zan}}). A second type of vermicelli is made from rice that has been fermented ({{lang-zh|t=米線|p=mǐxiàn|links=no}}; {{langx|th|ขนมจีน|khanom chin|links=no}}; Vietnamese: {{Transliteration|vi|bún}}). The latter are normally eaten fresh, rather than after drying. Thirdly, vermicelli sometimes indicates cellophane noodles made from mung bean or sweet potato flour ({{lang-zh|t=粉絲|p=fěnsī|links=no}}; {{langx|th|วุ้นเส้น|wun sen|links=no}}). Cellophane noodles turn translucent after cooking, whereas rice vermicelli remain opaque. The fourth type of vermicelli are made from wheat rather than rice flour, misua ({{lang-zh|t=麵線|poj=mī-sòan|y=min seen|p=miànxiàn}}).