Miracle Noodles or Shirataki Noodles are the name given to the low-carb, low-fat, low-calorie, translucent noodles made from konnyaku yam and have been extremely popular in Japan and other parts of Asia for years. They are wheat and gluten free and are excellent for people who are on calorie and wheat restrictive diets. You just need to learn how to work with them to make them work for you.
Types of Miracle Noodles
You can usually find this product in the produce section of specialty grocery stores and online. Miracle noodles are not stiff like Italian pasta. Instead they are soft and are delivered in the consistency that you will eat them in and float in water within their packaging. They come in angel hair, fettucini and sometimes spaghetti sized noodles. There is also a shirataki “rice” which look more like orzo pasta to me. Someone told me they saw a lasagna version once, but I have yet to find that kind. If you’ve heard of miracle noodles it’s probably been in conjunction with a diet or the benefits of eating them in order to aid in weight loss. Being that a 7oz package is enough to make two generous servings and with ZERO CALORIES you can see why they are so popular.
If you look at the above nutritional information though, you can also see that they don’t have much of any nutritional value either, (or taste really), so you really have to doctor these things up to give them any flavor. The upside is, because they literally have no calories, you can add things like butter and cheese to them without feeling guilty about blowing your calories (or points) for the day. I have only tried two brands of Miracle noodles. The Swanson brand Miracle Noodles which are the traditional yam version and have no calories.
And the House Brands version made with Tofu instead of yam and are about 15 calories a serving with a little more nutritional value. (If you’re tofu sensitive, you’ll need to stick to the regular kind.
I’ll be honest. When I first started to cook with this stuff it didn’t turn out well, because I kept trying to work with them like you work with regular pasta. For the record: THIS DOES NOT WORK. The secret is actually all in the prep. Here I’m going to outline the basic prep that I do before I use them in a recipe:
Basic Miracle Noodles Preparation
- Open noodle package and drain liquid (do not be put off by the fishy smell, it will go away)
- Rinse noodles thoroughly under running water or a bowlful of water for at least a minute
- Fill a medium sized saucepan with water and bring to a boil
- Cut noodles into thirds (they’re crazy long!) and drop into boiling water
- DO NOT BOIL NOODLES FOR LONGER THAN 2 MINUTES.
- Remove noodles from pot and rinse again with cold water
- Drain and pat noodles dry.
- Dry out the pot completely
- Toss noodles into UNGREASED dry pot or saucepan under low heat and lightly “fry” until all water is completely removed from noodles
- Remove from heat and continue with recipe of choice
It’s REALLY important to cut the noodles down if you’re working with the longer noodle versions and to let them dry as much as possible before using them. One of the things I could never seem to get right when I first started working with them was their “gloppy” consistency. That was because I wasn’t drying them out enough.
Miracle Noodles Recipes
Personally, I think that Miracle noodles work best in Asian recipes and lighter, simpler dishes. These noodles are thin and chewy and were not really meant to be weighed down with thick and heavy sauces. I often add them to soups to give them more filling, or substutute them for lighter regular pastas like anegl hair or soba. Below are a couple of simple recipes that I use all the time.
Simple Miracle Noodle Pasta with Pesto
Prepare 1 bag of Miracle noodles (I’ve used Angel hair, spaghetti and fettucini varieties) according to the “Basic” instructions above, then add 1 tbsps of butter and two tablespoons of prepared pesto sauce and toss over low heat. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.
Simple Sesame Miracle Noodle Recipe
Ingredients:
1 package Miracle noodles (either angel hair or spaghetti varieties)
2 scallions, sliced
2 tbs sesame oil
2 tbs reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tbs rice vinegar or brown rice vinegar
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cucumber seeded and thinly chopped
1 tsp cayenne (optional)
1 tsp toasted sesame seed (optional)
Directions:
Cook noodles according to Basic Directions above. In a medium sized bowl, mix oil, soy sauce, vinegar, honey, salt, and lemon juice well. Transfer noodles into the dressing and toss with scallions, and remaining ingredients. Chill, or serve immediately at room temperature in 3/4 cup servings.
- Have you ever cooked with Miracle nooodles? What are some of your favorite recipes?
Image credits: Miracle Noodles packaging/MiracleNoodle; Shirataki packaging/House Foods;Shirataki plate iamge/123rf.com;Miracle noodles pesto image/Vitacost.com
