Miracle noodle thoughts?

How do they taste? I'm afraid to try them. I like real pasta and I make sure I don't overeat it.

If you like them, go for them! I've tried them many times, but they are not my fave and I find I am hungry 30 minutes later. Personally, I'd rather spiralize veg as fake noodles.

The one thing I will say about the shiritaki noodles is to make sure you cook them properly! They often have a funky smell because of a preservative agent in the water in the bag and it can cause an upset stomach if ingested. I always rinse and boil shiritaki noodles.

I like them-- particularly in place of cold noodles in salads. I'm less impressed with them as a direct substitute for pasta.

I also like to cut them into small pieces-- particularly when using them in a salad.

They taste funny and they have a weird texture, but they are very filling and almost calorie free.

If you rinse then dry fry, it makes the texture less rubbery and more like a traditional noodle.

mockchoc wrote: »

^ what cwolfman said. They are just made from a tuber and been eaten for centuries in Japan. Totally safe but not to everyones taste because of their texture. They are best used in Asian dishes, not Italian I think. They have a lot of fibre too. Be sure to rinse the liquid off in cold running water before cooking as it does smell weird.

This. ^

I've been eating them for a number of years, however I buy mine from an Asian market in a package that has almost no English on it. I get the original shirataki noodles (approximately 4 calories per 100 grams) and not the ones that have tofu added and are packaged to be marketed to the American market as a "miracle" food. A few suggestions:

1) Always drain and rinse them off first. You can also boil them if you want, but I've been able to remove the odor from the brand I buy just by rinsing.

2) If you have time, dry fry them in a pan for about ten minutes first. This will cook out some of the water (they are 97% water) and improve the texture.

3) This is just personal opinion, but for me, like mockchoc said, I use them only as 'noodles' in Asian style dishes. For example, with pad thai sauce, peanut sauce, soy/stir-fry sauces, etc. I never use them as 'pasta' and so they never get served with any form of tomato (marinara, bolognese, ragu) or alfredo/cream sauce.

I honestly can't stand them.

And i've tried everything from rinsing to dry frying to flavorful sauces. They simply lack the "bite" that normal noodles have.

I like them, usually buy the variety box from Amazon for $17.99. I think I have bought 4 boxes so far. Once they have the spaghetti sauce or whatever on them they taste like the real thing - spaghetti squash & Zucchini noodles still taste like what they are (veggies) no matter what sauce you put on them. They taste a lot better than the gluten free pasta and over the years I probably tried most of them. They taste kind of like rice noodles. Just be careful not to overcook them.

I love them. I eat them almost every day for my lunch. They don't have much flavor plain, so you really do need a sauce. I do use spaghetti sauce and sprinkle cheese, so good. I've done clam sauce, and even just butter and salt. Some brands are better than others. I finally found a brand that is more pasta like, and not so rubbery.