Awesome No Calorie Noodles : Shirataki / Miracle Noodles

EvilShenanigansTX

I LOVE and ADORE these noodles. They have been the reason I have been able to eat tasty, filling meals and still lose weight.

I prepare them by rinsing VERY well (like three of four minutes) then I pour over 4 cups of boiling water. After that I drain well then I put them in a microwave safe colander inside a microwave safe bowl and nuke them for 3 minutes. They give off a TON of water, and the texture firms up some so it is less bouncy. Now they are ready to be added to whatever sauce or concoction I make.

Why rinse so long? To get rid of the smell!

Why blanch in boiling water? To firm them up!

Why nuke them? Do drive out any excess water, and to firm them up even more!

I could not imagine my life without these magic noodles! Love!!

Silly_Sara

Bump!

azztkk

bump

horseplaypen

I feel like I'm eating worms every time I try them.

Yep, that's what I was going to say. And I'm a vet student, so I know worms. Wonder if there's a way to make them softer... less firm??

delilah47

I opt for spaghetti squash instead of pasta. IMO those noodles are just plain nasty.

One cup of spaghetti squash has 42 calories.

jofjltncb6

Huh? No calories?

If it has no calories, then it isn't really a food, is it?

DontStopB_Leakin

I'M JUST HERE BECAUSE I LIKE TO YELL!


HAI GUISE!

BritneysStuntDouble

I HEAR THEY TASTE LIKE ****.

IS THAT TRUE?

rowlandk

bump

_Elemenopee_

NOODLES!!!

auroranflash

I do wish to try these, just haven't put forth enough effort to find them yet. I'm not scared of new food ... I like to try it all. Especially if it's low calorie and I can eat a buttload of it and feel completely happy. I have magical cooking ways and they will be delicious.

By the way... for some reason, this post reminded me of this old, funny thing I read forever ago:

http://www.zug.com/pranks/outgoing/noodles.html

It's hilarious, if you have time to read it. :laugh: "TOO MANY NOODLES!!!!"

makemewannadie

By the way... for some reason, this post reminded me of this old, funny thing I read forever ago:

http://www.zug.com/pranks/outgoing/noodles.html

It's hilarious, if you have time to read it. :laugh: "TOO MANY NOODLES!!!!"

Oh my god this made my day! haha

pati_jones

Bumpity bump!

Wenchilada

I also rinse the heck out of them (hot tap, 2-3 minutes, move them around a bit in the colander) and dry-fry (or a couple teaspoons of grapeseed oil) method for cooking them, which means you basically push them around in a hot pan/wok for 4-5 minutes until they dry out a bit, then add whatever other ingredients you want and cook till done. I've found tongs to be pretty much the easiest way of dealing with them, and I also cut them up a bit with kitchen scissors because sometimes I swear that the bag contains one insanely long noodle. They don't really taste like anything by themselves, but the texture is more bearable when prepared like this. When I first tried tofu shirataki noodles I pretty much just endured the texture (the spinach fettuccine are fairly good without too much fussing, though). I use Miracle Noodle brand, which I order on Subscribe & Save from Amazon, and it saves a ton of money compared to buying them at the grocery store (plus, they're shelf-stable, unlike the tofu variety). I like to make a stir-fry with shrimp, egg, scallion, liquid aminos/gluten-free soy sauce, and sriracha. You may literally crap when you tally up that huge bowl of food on your diary and find it can easily clock in at well under 400 calories. (But if you do, please clean up after yourself, because that's gross.)

mirasolabeille

Casting another vote for the rinse and dry-fry technique. These make a convincing substitute for rice noodles if you take a little time with them - I like them with shredded cabbage, carrots and onions, sautéed and mixed through with homemade Thai peanut sauce (egg and shrimp optional but yummy).

I have never tried to make an Italian-style pasta dish with shirataki, and I probably never will, for the same reason that I wouldn't put Alfredo sauce on regular rice noodles. Too much cognitive dissonance. If I'm making lasagna or Mac and cheese, I go for Dreamfields.

readthat

I was reading about these noodles recently and wanted to try them. Good to know you can get them at Whole Foods. I was planning to go there today, so I will grab some. I think I will opt for the tofu kind, or maybe get some of each and test them out. Has anyone tried them with plain old spaghetti sauce?

T1mH

I was reading about these noodles recently and wanted to try them. Good to know you can get them at Whole Foods. I was planning to go there today, so I will grab some. I think I will opt for the tofu kind, or maybe get some of each and test them out. Has anyone tried them with plain old spaghetti sauce?

If you just put spaghetti sauce on them you will be disapointed. I have had good luck with backing them with spaghetti sauce with cheese sprinkled on top or with Alfredo sauce. You need to give the noodles a chance to pick up the flavor of what your cooking them with.

My wife says they remind her of the texture of mushrooms which she can't stand and she doesn't like the noodles.

bordsilly

I tried these but wasn't impressed. I felt like I was chewing on a rubber band. Flavor wasn't bad tho. if texture was different I would love as I am a pasta lover.

stehmari

the texture can be hard for some people to get past. my favorite way to have them is a stir fry with lots of veggies and soy sauce yum! haven't tried them with spaghetti sauce yet, i feel like that would be kinda gross

I use these noodles weekly. I also use them in our spaghetti. I get the spaghetti noodles (our store carries spaghetti, fettucinne, and macaroni) I prepare it with veggie patch vegetarian meatballs. First, I rinse the shiritaki noodles ( I have not tried the microwave method, I might though) I put them in a small sauce pan with the spaghetti sauce and doctor it up. It's a win in my house :-)

mirasolabeille

I read in a Chinese cookbook once that part of the secret to a good stir fry is cutting all the food into uniform size and shape. This actually works for these noodles really well; if you use a mandoline or a salad shooter or whatever (I have one of those rotary vegetable slicers that makes veggie noodles, but I'm a food geek) to cut your zucchini or your sweet potato or your onion or your carrot into skinny noodle ribbons, the texture issue of the noodles goes away because all those noodle shapes get tangled up together. So instead of having a clump of rubbery noodles sitting on top of vegetable chunks, you're getting all the textures simultaneously.

I don't know if this makes any sense.

smousley

bump

Jhalk

I agree, the texture is odd, and not super fond of using them in place of traditional pasta dishes, but really like them in a stir fry! Seems the key is to have something in the mix that is crunchier than the noodle, such as steamed onions, baby carrots, etc... I didn't notice the texture at all when I "fried" it up with some soy and an egg white, along with some crunchy veggies. I really enjoyed it...
Definitely the drier the noodle, the better!

Jhalk

Totally agree! I didn't notice your post originally, but your right!

glitterstreet

I've tried these, they're too chewy for me..

fourikids

When I first tried these they were disgusting. i had a friend tell me that you have to prepare them different than the package says. So I tried again and my results were much better. I cook them in chicken broth for several hours on low.....then drain the broth and dry roast them. I now use them in soups, as spaghetti, in stir fry, etc. Still not as good as real pasta, but better than no pasta dishes at all!

robdel302

The zero calorie version is made strictly from glucomannan fiber. It's similar to gelatin but plant based as it makes food congeal. It's almost like an extruded jello when consumed in the noodle form. The tofu version has a much more palatable texture and flavor although at the cost of additional calories; mostly from protein. There is also a potato version but I've only had it once and it was the most calorie dense and least appetising. It had a strange flavor that made the zero calorie version more appealing.

They all do have a much firmer, chewier texture than flour based noodles. There is also an extremely fishy aroma when first opened but a thorough rinse will remove the smell. Running the noodles in a colander under a faucet for a few minutes works well.

The powder can be purchased by itself for those that want to experiment with making their own noodles. Although I can't find a recipe for making the tofu version.

http://www.amazon.com/Konjac-Glucomannan-Powder-500g-bag/dp/B002AISTA8

meeper123

uh... they sound odd think I will stick to my squash

freddi11e

bump.

robdel302

uh... they sound odd think I will stick to my squash

Might be a good idea; these noodles seem to work best in Asian dishes. The texture is a bit off-putting in Italian style dishes. Wish I had known about spaghetti squash before I got deployed; I could compare the two.

nbell120

Can't wait to try!