Browsing through the organic / gluten free area of my grocery store the other day, I came across a product I had never seen before. It was a small squishy bag filled with water and noodles. But not just any noodles - these are No oodles. Vaguely reminiscent of thick wet Japanese shirataki noodles, these caught my eye because they have no calories, no fat, no carbs, no gluten, and no soy. What the heck are these made of? 3 ingredients listed on the back: Water, yam flour, and lime ( which I suspect is not a flavoring, but a preservative. I could detect no lime flavor )
The instructions on the side are straightforward. Noodles are precooked. Drain, rinse, and use as you would any noodle. Ok, I think I will. However, the whole bag says that it is 8 ounces, and a serving is 1.6 ounces. Huh?? That's like 4 noodles. Sorry to sound like a pig, but I ate the whole bag - which trust me - isn't all that much.
Upon opening the bag, I immediately detected a funky odor. Not pleasant, but not incredibly off putting. It was hard to describe. "Funky" fits just about as well as anything else. When I rinsed the noodles, the odor eased. I suspect it was partially the lime juice in the water acting as a preservative. Once the noodles were rinsed and drained, I added a light dash of Trader Joe's soyaki sauce and tossed in chopped up pieces of my turkey meatballs. For someone who hasn't eaten a lot of noodles / pasta in a while - these were tasty. I'm impressed that the noodles absorbed the soyaki flavor I added, and kept their shape well. These noodles were good, and it is clear - they take on whatever flavor you add to them.
My husband, ever the resourceful cook in the family, dumped a bag into a pot of chicken broth he was making from scratch, then added some egg and mushrooms and made a lovely egg drop chicken noodle soup.
If you see a funny squishy bag of noodles on the shelf, or see shirataki noodles in the Asian market - I suggest you pick them up. They are a welcome addition to my Clean diet.