Shirataki Noodles....Dun Dun Dun.

Well I have finally tried them: Shirataki Noodles (aka Tofu noodles). They are used as a pasta substitute and are extremely low in carbs and calories. They are also featured in Hungry Girl. So, why not try them? I decided  to just go for a classic spaghetti dish with beef and tomato sauce on top of the noodles. 

Let me first just start with I am not trying to start eating tofu and/or any meat substitute. But I am open to trying new things. Secondly, I am not posting this because it was a "success". I think its only fair that if I keep posting all my wonderful cooking adventures, I might as well share my, um....more interesting and off-beat meals also. 

I decided to make these just for myself. As you know by previous posts, Hil and Mo are fairly picky and especially critical of my cooking. So I figured I'd do this more daring recipe for just myself... 

So, according to Hungry Girl, to start these off, you need to wash them and "pat them dry". Since they are tofu, they soak up a lot of moisture and for any of the sauce to stick, they need to be patted dry with a paper towel. 

Here are the directions.....

NOTICE* I have never heard of needing to cook something to "reduce the authentic aroma". Strange. Anyways, I go and open the package and about fell over. The "authentic aroma" that they refer to is one of the most fowl smelling things I have ever experienced. I wanted to choke. As I'm writing this a week later I can still imagine the smell!! Just EEWWW!!! Trust me! 

Being the trooper that I think I am, I go on with cooking them...

They were a little more rubbery than normal noodles. Just in case you do try them, cooking does actually reduce the smell, but not entirely. 

And I pat them dry. It took more paper towels than I want to admit to soak up all the water.

Here is the final product. To tell you the truth I did not eat it all. I think I mostly couldn't get over the whole smell, and the texture was pretty rubbery. My final say is that if I had to eat them I would and could, but not voluntarily. I would much rather just give up pasta. :) 

So there you go....probably the worst meal I have ever prepared. I'm sure there will be more to come, but it was a risk worth taking. (What if they were amazing and I would never have to waste my caloric intake on regular pasta again?) That, however was definitely not the case!