Vermicelli
Vermicelli (Italian: ver-mih-CHEL-lee, lit. “little worms”) is a type of pasta, round in section and somewhat thinner than spaghetti. Vermicelloni (ver-mih-chel-LOH-nee, “thick vermicelli”) is less common[citation needed], and about the same size as fedelini (also hard to find)[citation needed]. Both are thinner than spaghettini (“thin spaghetti”).
History in Italy
In 14th-century Italy, extra-fine spaghetti had varying local names. "Master Barnaba da Reatinis from Reggio Emilia notes that Tuscan vermicelli are called orati in Bologne, minutelli in Venice, fermentini in Reggio and pancardelle in Mantua."[1]
The first mention of a vermicelli recipe is in the book 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 ("camerlengo"), the Patriarch of Aquileia. In Martino's Libro de arte coquinaria, there are several recipes for vermicelli, which can last two or three years (doi o tre anni) when dried in the sun.
History in Asia
In India, vermicelli is known variously as shemai in Bengali, seviyan in Hindi and Urdu, shavige in Kannada Sevalu or Semiyalu in Telugu and Semiya in Tamil. The noodles are used in a number of dishes including a variation of kheer, a sweet dessert similar to rice pudding. Vermicelli is used in many parts of India to make a popular dish called Upma. To prepare it, one boils the dry oil-roasted vermicelli with a choice of vegetables.
The term rice vermicelli is often used to describe the thin, transparent rice noodles (米粉) popular in China, also known as bee hoon in Hokkien, mai fun in Cantonese, kyar-zun in Burmese and bún in Vietnamese.
Conversely, 面线 (Hokkien: mee sua, Cantonese: min seen, Mandarin Chinese: mian xian) is vermicelli that is made of wheat instead of rice. While superficially similar to bee hoon it has a very different texture, and different culinary uses as well.
History in the Americas
The fideo is a type of noodle, popular in Mexican and Latin American cuisine, often referred to in English as "vermicelli." It is commonly used in chicken soup and in sopa seca, a type of side dish.
In the United States, vermicelli is usually the pasta found in Rice-A-Roni, a pilaf-style rice-and-pasta side dish manufactured by The Quaker Oats Company.
History in the UK
In the UK, vermicelli commonly refers to chocolate Sprinkles for ice cream.