Tips for Using Shirataki Noodles in Recipes

There are two kinds of shirataki noodles. The first one is the traditional shirataki, and the second one is the tofu-based shirataki. For convenience, this article will focus on the latter. If you want to know of some tips for using shirataki noodles in recipes, then read on.

Some Basic Tips

Before you proceed with using tofu-based shirataki in a recipe, it's best that you know some basic preparation methods first. It's recommended that you parboil (which means, blanch, cook briefly, or partially boil) the noodles first. Most people recommend doing this with olive oil in the water because they say there's a detectable odd taste or smell to them, and the oil helps remove that. You could also try cutting them up into shorter lengths because they tend to be a little too long (though, that depends on your style of cooking preparation).

Tofu Shirataki Spaghetti

Tofu can also be used as an alternative to pasta. Two bags of Tofu shirataki noodles should suffice (or 16 oz). All you need is to heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil and sauté 1 cup of mushrooms and 1 cup of cooked zucchini with it. You can add garlic or pepper to it too if you want. You'll want to heat some canned tomato sauce too (1 and a half cup) in a small saucepan while you separately boil the Tofu shirataki for 7 or more minutes. After that, place the shirataki into a bowl as you mix the sautéed vegetables with the tomato sauce. When done mixing, place the shirataki noodles into a plate and then pour some of the tomato sauce on top of it. Voila! You now have a Tofu Shirataki Spaghetti serving for one.

Beef Sukiyaki

Tofu shirataki is also used in Beef Sukiyaki. The basic ingredients would be thinly sliced beef (1 pound), a few shirataki noodles (just a handful), a block of enoki mushrooms, 1 medium negi, 1/2 chinese cabbage, and 1 grilled tofu (yaki-dofu). Cut all these ingredients into little bite-sized pieces as you prepare to make the sukiyaki sauce. For the sauce, you'll need 1/3 cup of soy sauce, 3 tablespoons of sake, 5 tablespoons of sugar, and 3/4 cup of water. Fry the ingredients in a pan or skillet beginning with the beef slices and then pour the sauce into the pan. Add the other ingredients only when the sauce starts boiling. Let it simmer until the ingredients soften. Begin eating, to which you'll also need 4 raw beaten eggs for dipping the cooked sukiyaki in. Add more sauce to the sukiyaki if it boils away.

Other Ideas

Other ideas for using them in recipes are for pork stew with juniper and porcini and the added shirataki noodles. Some recipes that use shirataki are also Cold Sesame Noodles, Singapore Noodles, Korean Noodles, and Shrimp Pad Thai. There are many more ideas but they won't all fit into this article anymore. Basically, it's all up to you how you'd want to use shirataki noodles in your recipe.

Tofu shirataki noodles have become popular over the past few years, especially in America. The main reason for this is because of the zero to low-carbs in it. It's definitely a good reason and that's why a lot of people are going for shirataki noodles.