What are shirataki noodles? Are they a good substitute for pasta?

Being married to a Type 2 Diabetic I am constantly searching for ways to serve pasta that will not cause a spike in his blood sugar. Then I read about Miracle Noodle. This company sells shirataki noodles in pasta shapes.

Shirataki noodles are made from glucomannan. Glucomannan is a water-soluble dietary fiber made from the roots of the konjac plant. The amazing thing is that they have zero net carbohydrates, zero calories, no soy, and no gluten. Like tofu, shirataki noodles have no real flavor. They take on the flavor of the sauce or soup they are served in.

The Miracle Noodle site recommends rinsing the noodles before using to get rid of the fishy smell. Fishy smell?! When I opened the package of angel hair noodles I gave it a wary sniff. There was indeed a slight fish odor. I poured the noodles into a strainer and rinsed with cold water. The smell was gone. The texture is a bit odd. They are rubbery, sort of like making pasta from gümmi bears. Now, I have to be honest, I don't like the texture of gümmi bears, but the noodles weren't bad.

The first experiment was okay. I simply heated the noodles up in the microwave with a spicy tomato sauce.

Someone recommended that I put the noodles in a hot skillet to remove some of the moisture first. I did this during my second try and I liked the texture much more. I made turkey picatta snd added the noodles back into the butter-lemon sauce. They were very good. No, a butter-lemon sauce is not the definition of healthy. The noodles were much easier to serve than cooking pasta. They also lowered the calorie count of the meal and filled the emotional desire for pasta.

One of our favorite versions is the orzo pasta. This is great in soup providing texture instead of rice or regular pasta. Think about it, all those "skinny soups" that really need pasta, rice, or potatoes to make them satisfying can be made with shirataki noodles which have no calories.

I wanted to see if there was a difference between the Miracle Noodles and other shirataki noodles available in asian food stores. Yes there is! When I opened the packages of other brands the fish smell was extremely strong. The texture of the other noodles was much more rubbery. My family accused me of trying to feed them worms. Each of the other brands were left in the dish and my family went looking for bread.

Give Miracle Noodles a try. While they'll never truly replace traditional pasta they make an excellent alternative that is good for your health and your waistline.