On Friday I ran across a post on Gizmodo about improving those dry, 3 minute ramen noodles. I really love ramen noodles – I just hate that I’m wise to how terrible they are – so far as fat, sodium and calories. In fact, I wrote a post about it awhile back!
Anyhow, so when I saw the post on Gizmodo, I told myself – there has got to be a better noodle out there. There has to be! After much searching (I wasn’t using the right search criteria), I ran across a forum for dieting and fitness and someone mentioned shirataki noodles. From the Wiki article:
Shirataki (白滝?, often written with the hiragana しらたき) are very low carbohydrate, low calorie, thin, translucent, gelatinous traditional Japanese noodles made from the konjac plant.
Bingo! That’s exactly what I was looking for! I’ve been doing a bit of research on the noodle and have found that while the noodles are enjoyable – it’s important to note that just like squash noodles, just because it’s in noodle form doesn’t mean it has the same texture and feel as traditional flour pasta noodles. But, I’m willing to try them, and hope that I like them because I really love noodle soups and I want to be able to enjoy them again.
With the noodles in hand (I found some at a local Asian market, $2 for a 9 oz package of the wet variety), I began researching how best to enjoy them. The “white” kind of noodles have no taste to them at all, and therefore absorb the flavor of the meal they’re prepared with. I bought a package of chow mien seasoning as well, but I’ve decided not to use that. I found a recipe in my “How to Cook Everything” iPhone app – a ginger-scallion sauce. It only takes four ingredients and seems more mild and traditional. If I end up liking the noodles, I’m going to try them in this recipe I found on KitchenDaily for a Quick Miso Ramen Soup with Broccoli and Carrot.
