What-y what-y noodles?
Shirataki noodles are Japanese noodles made from the konjac root. Otherwise known as a dragon yam. The fiber is ground into a flour that has negligible calories and basically makes a gelatinous goo. Now stick with me here. The goo can be made in a thick consistency and is shaped into noodles. So really, they are not noodles, they are yam fiber slime, hence the nearly no calories. On the upside, they are gluten free, vegan, diabetic friendly, and are technically even paleo. A popular brand is Miracle Noodles. They work well in Asian dishes, especially the angel hair variety, since it is similar to ramen in size and texture. There are plenty of recipes all over the internet. Most people agree they are not great in Italian dishes unless you come up with just the right approach. I tend to agree. I tried the fettuccine with tomato sauce and nearly barfed. I decided to reconfigure my spicy peanut sauce stir fry to give the angel hair shirataki a try, and I was relieved at how good it tasted. As in, so good, I have to share it because I would eat this even if I was not trying to lose some pudge.
Shirataki “Ramen” Noodles with Peanut Chicken & Pea Pods
- 2 packets shirataki noodles (the kind WITHOUT tofu)
- 6 chicken breast tenderloins
- 1.5 cups fresh pea pods
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 tablespoon tamari
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
Open and rinse shirataki noodles. They reek, but won’t after a good hot rinse. By reek, I mean they smell like a dead fish on a hot sunny day. luckily, the smell goes away completely after rinsing and cooking. You don’t really need to cook them, but doing so will help the texture and smell. Please don’t let this deter you! After rinsing the “noodles” in a strainer, let them sit in the strainer while you get to work on your chicken.
Chop your chicken up into smallish chunks and simmer them on low in a frying pan with the chicken both for about eight minutes. You want it to be slightly underdone so it can finish in the stir fry.
Take you shirataki noodles, place in a separate pan, and dry fry them with the dry seasonings first. by dry fry, I mean no oil or liquid. You sizzle the noodles and seasonings on medium until the seasonings are sticking to the pan pretty good. Add your pea pods, sesame oil, and tamari(gluten free soy sauce). combine your chicken and broth with the noodles and pea pods. Stir fry for a minute or two, then add the peanut butter. It might take a lot of stirring to incorporate the peanut butter.
Stir fry until pea pods are cooked to desired consistency and sauce is reduced to just a sheen.
All done! This makes four small, but filling servings for very few calories. Shirataki noodles a love-hate type of thing. If you are in the love camp, spicy peanut sauce cannot be beat.
