Once available only at specialty grocers, rice noodles can now be found in mainstream markets. Their versatility makes them a natural in their native Asian cuisines, and they're used in everything from Pad Thai to Vietnamese noodle bowls.

Compared with dried pasta made from wheat, rice noodles offer an entirely different "bite" -- they are more tender, yet at the same time more elastic, than wheat pastas. Visually, they're different, too; milky white when raw, they become translucent as they cook. They aren't served al dente, but are cooked to sleek smoothness throughout. We suggest that you closely observe the cooking times, because rice noodles are easily overcooked.

Perhaps the greatest virtue of rice noodles is their ability to absorb flavors. While wheat pastas simply carry a sauce, rice noodles, in Zen-like fashion, become the sauce. They assume its flavors, cheerfully surrendering their own essentially bland character. That set us to thinking: Wouldn't they be equally at home with other cuisines from around the world?

The answer, we found, is yes. Try these recipes to gain confidence with rice noodles. Then you'll be able to use them anytime, and in any recipe that calls for noodles of any stripe.