Can I use washing soda to cook noodles? I found a recipe for homemade ramen noodles that calls for 'baked baking soda'. Based on some research, baking sodium bicarbonate will convert it to sodium carbonate. Na2CO3 is more basic than NaHCO3 and apparently basic water is good for chewy noodles.
Sodium carbonate is also known as washing soda. Can I use store-bought washing soda instead of making my own baked baking soda?
No, you cannot use normal washing soda for cooking because you cannot count on the purity of the product.
Even if the chemical formula is identical, the standards for manufacturing chemicals intended for human consumption are considerably higher than those for cleaning.
You can, however, purchase food-grade sodium carbonate as a food additive from a variety of manufacturers.