**6. Our latest approach**

Superheated steam (SHS) drying of food materials is a technological innovation with inherent benefits over hot air-drying processes, such as shorter drying rates due to higher temperatures, relatively low energy demand, little or emission of harmful pollutants in the atmosphere, and the absence of oxidation process owing to the unavailability of oxygen [41]. SHS enhanced the structurally improved dried RNS-COM (RNS-COM-SHS), cooking, and textural properties. The SHS, generated with a superheated steam oven (31L SHARP Healsio AX1700VMR) set at 120°C was able to unlock the framework of RNS-COM-SHS, leading to faster gelatinization of starch granules and a 1-minute decrease in optimum cooking time. RNS-COM-SHS had a compact structure with starch granules tightly integrated with the proteins (**Figure 5**). More cavities and less tight areas in RNS-COM-SHS would offer less restriction to moisture penetration into the noodle structure, lowering the cooking time and improving cooking yield.

Superheated steam processing had no adverse effects on the essential textural properties of the noodles, but it resulted in noodles that took less time to cook due to faster starch gelatinization, as evidenced by lower enthalpy. As a result, superheated steam processing of RNS improves the cooking and textural properties of dried rice-flour soy protein isolate noodles.

**Figure 5.** *Structural morphology of the noodles. (a) RN-SHS, (b) RNS-COM-SHS.*
