Saturday, August 7, 2010

This will make me thin - shirataki, or konyaku noodles

I love carbohydrates - I admit. Nothing beats the nice feeling of having a bowl of hot noodles, some pasta, or even a some white and fluffy steamed rice to go with curries. 

Top of the list is is Shirataki  or Konyaku noodles.  I was in Asia and found that Konyaku noodles is a "dieting secret weapon" for the girls who seemed to be 1/3 of my size there. Shirataki noodles are made from the root of the Konjac plant and they are a kind of jelly. The calories are remarkably low!  


This is the typical nutritional values:
Typical Nutritional InformationPer 100g serving.
Energy: 6kcal
Protein: 0.2g
Fat: 0.4g
Carbohydrate: 2.0g

Sodium: 1mg
(Nutritional may vary slightly depending on the brand of Shirataki in stock)


Yes, that is right, it is 6kcal per 100g, and 1 pack is typically about 180g, ie less than 12kcal! Wow, that is probably what you get just eating a mouthful of pasta. I tried getting some and cooked, and realised that 1 pack fills me up. If I am not too hungry, I only need about 1/2 pack.  Since the main "material" of the noodle-ish dish only contributed about 12kcal, there is lots of room for vege and proteins like chicken fillet, prawns, or fish!


The noodles are really easy to cook. There is a rather fishy taste, i think, if you throw it directly to your soup. I find that by boiling it in water for about 1-2 minutes, and draining away the water is important. After that, all you need to do is just add it to your soup base, in place of usual noodles or pasta. It keeps you full, and only take minutes to cook!


You can get this from Japanese food stores, or larger Asian supermarkets. Here is a link:
http://www.japanesefoodshop.co.uk/shimonita--shirataki-noodles-yam-noodles---180g-147-p.asp

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Genius! :D Hope we can get this in Norway!!

Woman said...

Hi there,

You might want to check out the Japanese grocers usually available in most big cities. If you cannot find any, the Japan Centre from UK delivers to Norway and many other countries.

http://www.japancentre.com/delivery

Good luck!