Fideos

Fideuà is a Valencian dish that uses short fideos noodles in place of rice, cooked paella-style in a wide pan with seafood and stock. By tradition it is said to have been invented by fishermen near Gandia who found themselves without rice.

The Spanish word fideo derives from an Arabic word for noodle, reflecting the Moorish influence on Iberian cuisine. Short, thin fideos spread across Spain and then through Latin America with Spanish colonization.

Fideos are thin noodles cut or broken into short lengths rather than long strands, which suits soups and dry-cooked dishes. In many Spanish and Latin American recipes the noodles are lightly toasted or browned in oil before liquid is added, deepening their flavor.

The best known is Mexico's sopa de fideos, a comforting tomato-broth noodle soup often finished with lime. Fideos are also used across the region as a side dish, in soups, and as a rice substitute in paella-style preparations.