Cold tofu shirataki noodles
Though you can also eat it warm ;)
Welcome to To Vegetables, With Love, a celebration of a vegetable life, less ordinary. ‘ Find archived recipes on my recipe index.
I won’t speak for all vegetarians here, so this applies only to me. Vegetarians living in a meaty world are conditioned to be non-picky eaters. This may sound contrary to the fact that there is a whole genre of food that I have chosen not to eat, but living in a meat-centric world, I cannot be fussy about food. I am so used to choosing the one vegetarian offering on a restaurant menu, that I am completely overwhelmed when there is more than two or three choices (joking, not joking). I am completely okay with eating a garden salad with French fries at a diner because that is the only veg option on offer. As a result, I can't think of many ingredients I dislike to eat or cook with. But for a long time, there was one. I purchased and tried to like it, several times. But each time I opened the packet, the smell was so vile, I would throw it straight into the trash. The product of my spurn: shirataki noodles.
Shirataki noodles are a translucent, gelatinous Japanese noodles made from the starchy tuber of the konjac plant (also known as konjac yam or elephant yam). The konjac is processed and refined into a flour called glucomannan flour. It is sold in a sachet with brine, and when you open the packet, you will be assaulted by a rancid fishy smell.
I googled why does shirataki noodles smell so fishy?
The AI overview told me Shirataki noodles smell like fish due to a compound called trimethylamine found in the konjac flour they are made from. This compound is also responsible for the odor in the liquid they are often packaged in. The noodles themselves don't inherently have a strong smell, but the liquid absorbs the odor.
There are so many noodles in the world that I didn’t have a deep need to like shirataki noodles. But recently, I tried a Thai curry soup with shirataki noodles at a restaurant and I absolutely loved it. The bouncy, slightly gelatinous texture was so satisfying. No fishy taste at all.
That experience was my catalyst for giving shirataki noodles another go at home. Some research unveiled that they are a similar to these yam noodle knots which my mother often made, a delicious steamed dish topped with a savoury mushroom sauce (saving that recipe for another post). Shirataki noodles are also sold as yam noodles, devil's tongue noodles, or konjac noodles.
But how do we get rid of the smell? Reddit searches told me that lemon juice is an effective solution. r/keto shared: I know that the fishy smell of fish is effectively neutralized with lemon juice, so I figured I'd try it with the noodles, and it worked perfectly. I took 1 bag of shiratake noodles, drained, put them in a bowl with about a tablespoon of lemon juice. Swished it around for a few seconds, and rinsed off the lemon juice quickly. All fishy smell completely gone. The whole thing took maybe 30 seconds.
I tried the lemon trick and it works a treat!
The other method I used here is boiling the noodles. The package instructions will tell you that the noodles do not need to be cooked or to boil them for 1 minute but that is not enough to get rid of the smell. I like 5 minutes. The noodles are hardy and won’t fall apart. At the end, there might still be a faint fishy smell, but that all dissipates once you add the seasonings.
It turns out, shirataki noodles are darlings of the keto community. They are zero calorie food (apparently because glucomannan is an indigestible dietary fiber and also contains no carbohydrates), and are vegan and gluten free. All this is just a bonus. I eat them because I love the texture.
In the US, shirataki noodles are available in Asian grocery stores, with versions available readily at Japanese, Korean and Chinese supermarkets. The brand House Foods has a whole range of shirataki noodles – theirs has a bit of tofu mixed in so it is low, not zero, calorie – in familiar shapes such as fettucine, macaroni and spaghetti. In Australia, they are sold as konjac noodles at Woolworths, which has several varieties like these thick ones, these thinner vermicelli style ones, and a fettucine.
In this week’s recipe, I used shirataki noodles in a cold tofu broth noodle dish. Inspired by the Korean dish Kongguksu a cold soy milk soup, my recipe takes the shortcut of using a block of tofu to create a similar soy broth. My method is a bit of a reverse process from what the incredible Maangchi does where she makes the fresh milk from soy beans. Medium firm tofu is the best (not too hard, not too soft) for this recipe, but this recipe is forgiving, so you can use other types of tofu too, adding little or no water for soft tofu, or more water for extra firm. It’s always important to remember that the only difference between all the types of tofu is the water content so once you understand this, it is much easier to think of tofu as an ingredient you can experiment with.
In Maangchi’s kongguksu, she adds sesame seeds and pine nuts to her soy milk, creating a nutty emulsion. You should do this too, if you want a broth with more depth. You could also add a dollop of peanut butter or tahini for a similar effect, or for something more vegetal, consider pureeing spinach or herbs with the tofu. I kept my version clean, because I was seeking bright and light. The tofu broth is very neutral in flavor, so season it enthusiastically.
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And now a round up on what to cook this week. All NYT Cooking recipes have gift links.
Monday: This Roasted Pepper, White Bean and Mozzarella Salad uses store-bought jarred roasted peppers/capsicum and it’s so delicious
Tuesday: This Ramen With Charred Scallions, Green Beans and Chile Oil, a throwback from quarantine cooking, is still reliably delicious
Wednesday: Yo Po Mian, or ‘oil sprinkled noodles’ is a quick and aromatic weeknight noodle dish
Thursday: This macaroni soup is straight from my childhood and it is one of my beloved dishes ever. I created this ‘shroomy version for ABC Lifestyle, a good one for those in Wintry Oz.
Friday: This two ingredient mango (or any other frozen fruit) soft serve is so good
Cold tofu shirataki noodles
© Hetty Lui McKinnon for To Vegetables, With Love.
A note for those in the winter climes, gently warm the tofu broth on the stovetop or microwave. It can be eaten at any temperature.
This dish is a high protein, low/zero carb option,
Serves 4
gluten free, vegan