Keto noodles - konjac or shiratake
18 June 2023 01:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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gluten_freeThere are loads of bread alternatives out there for people eating keto, but what about noodles? I'm talking about noodles for Asian cooking, or for spaghetti, beef stroganoff, whatever.
So this is about konjac (also called shiratake) noodles - noodles made from the naturally occurring konjac yam (also called Devil's Tongue and you can see why!)
It originates from China and has long been used there and in Japan. It has corms containing glucomannan, a type of fibre, and is very low in digestible carbs and food energy, thus virtually zero carb.
On one hand, it might seem weird to eat something that's essentially a non-food - it's not bad for you, it's more like a blank slate, an absence of nutrition. But it can be handy on a keto diet as although it has almost no flavour of its own, like any noodles you can get it to soak up the flavours of the food you cook it in. It can support a tasty sauce/soup/stir fry structurally so you don't feel noodle-deprived!
The noodles come in packs in water, and the liquid tastes a bit odd so it's important to wash it off thoroughly - I use a strainer, then drain them for a bit. Another drawback is the wetness of the noodles so a good trick for a drier recipe is to dry-fry them first in a non-stick pan until they lose about 1/3 of their bulk and look less transparent. You're just cooking off some of the water - they're 97% water. Then add your veggies/protein, like for pad thai or whatever. They'll end up well-flavoured.
Some intrepid souls make their own konjac noodles which involves squeezing out a thin stream of konjac batter plus the setting agent (cooking lime) into a pot of boiling water. Too much hassle for me, but here's a vid about the process - some people add a little oat fibre powder to the mix and say it improves the taste and texture.
These days they've become popular enough that my local mailorder grocery provider stocks them,
and I'm sure various brands will be available in most places by now due to their popularity with the keto crowd. I don't use the soup packets that come with the Zero noodles as they're too salt-heavy, and I've sourced some cheaper noodles locally that are just noodles, with no extra flavour sachets.
Are they safe? Yes. They've been accused of containing FODMAPS but that's been shown to not be the case - they're low FODMAP. They're also GF, coeliac-friendly, and good for diabetics. They reduce insulin spikes, help lower cholesterol, and act as a prebiotic so generally benefit your gut. There are two caveats, both managed by "moderation in all things". Konjac does contain fibre so if you ate loads of it without drinking lots of water, you could get blocked up, and people unused to fibre can get some gas and discomfort. Also, konjac contains no other food value except the fibre, so if you ate nothing else, you'd starve.
Anyway, here are a bunch of vids with recipes for konjac noodles. As above, if they don't do the dry-frying step I recommend adding that in unless you're using them in a soup or with a wet sauce. Note that in all these there may well be brief mentions of weight-loss, calories, fitness, and health. Click the pics for the videos.
Felu's starter vid explaining about konjac/shiratake, with a great sauce recipe. Felu has a whole playlist of shiratake recipes
Shiratake pad thai
Shiratake spaghetti and meatballs
Shiratake noodles five ways - Japanese options and one "Neapolitan" version
Shiratake noodle mushroom stroganoff
Shiratake noodle fast laksa - the recipe uses rice vermicelli but just sub with washed and drained shiratake noodles. Sub the dumplings with GF dumplings or with a sliced chicken breast cooked in the broth, or with cubes of fried tofu.
So this is about konjac (also called shiratake) noodles - noodles made from the naturally occurring konjac yam (also called Devil's Tongue and you can see why!)
It originates from China and has long been used there and in Japan. It has corms containing glucomannan, a type of fibre, and is very low in digestible carbs and food energy, thus virtually zero carb.
On one hand, it might seem weird to eat something that's essentially a non-food - it's not bad for you, it's more like a blank slate, an absence of nutrition. But it can be handy on a keto diet as although it has almost no flavour of its own, like any noodles you can get it to soak up the flavours of the food you cook it in. It can support a tasty sauce/soup/stir fry structurally so you don't feel noodle-deprived!
The noodles come in packs in water, and the liquid tastes a bit odd so it's important to wash it off thoroughly - I use a strainer, then drain them for a bit. Another drawback is the wetness of the noodles so a good trick for a drier recipe is to dry-fry them first in a non-stick pan until they lose about 1/3 of their bulk and look less transparent. You're just cooking off some of the water - they're 97% water. Then add your veggies/protein, like for pad thai or whatever. They'll end up well-flavoured.
Some intrepid souls make their own konjac noodles which involves squeezing out a thin stream of konjac batter plus the setting agent (cooking lime) into a pot of boiling water. Too much hassle for me, but here's a vid about the process - some people add a little oat fibre powder to the mix and say it improves the taste and texture.
These days they've become popular enough that my local mailorder grocery provider stocks them,
and I'm sure various brands will be available in most places by now due to their popularity with the keto crowd. I don't use the soup packets that come with the Zero noodles as they're too salt-heavy, and I've sourced some cheaper noodles locally that are just noodles, with no extra flavour sachets.
Are they safe? Yes. They've been accused of containing FODMAPS but that's been shown to not be the case - they're low FODMAP. They're also GF, coeliac-friendly, and good for diabetics. They reduce insulin spikes, help lower cholesterol, and act as a prebiotic so generally benefit your gut. There are two caveats, both managed by "moderation in all things". Konjac does contain fibre so if you ate loads of it without drinking lots of water, you could get blocked up, and people unused to fibre can get some gas and discomfort. Also, konjac contains no other food value except the fibre, so if you ate nothing else, you'd starve.
Anyway, here are a bunch of vids with recipes for konjac noodles. As above, if they don't do the dry-frying step I recommend adding that in unless you're using them in a soup or with a wet sauce. Note that in all these there may well be brief mentions of weight-loss, calories, fitness, and health. Click the pics for the videos.
Felu's starter vid explaining about konjac/shiratake, with a great sauce recipe. Felu has a whole playlist of shiratake recipes
Shiratake pad thai
Shiratake spaghetti and meatballs
Shiratake noodles five ways - Japanese options and one "Neapolitan" version
Shiratake noodle mushroom stroganoff
Shiratake noodle fast laksa - the recipe uses rice vermicelli but just sub with washed and drained shiratake noodles. Sub the dumplings with GF dumplings or with a sliced chicken breast cooked in the broth, or with cubes of fried tofu.