So far in my gluten free and Paleo cooking experiments, I’ve conquered the duplication of several of my previous foodie favorites – including Greek, Mexican, and Italian foods.

One of the food groups that’s remained a mystery for me to recreate has been Asian food.  Many times I’ve been offered dishes made with rice noodles or Tamari soy sauce, which I have politely refused (rice noodles due to the grain content, and Tamari, due to the soy and alcohol content, all of which I avoid due to my health story).

So, I was more than thrilled when a dear friend gave me a bag of the most interesting “noodles” with which I could experiment.  I was a little leery at first, thinking that there wasn’t any way that these would be “safe” for me to eat.  

The noodles looked like this:

Gluten Free Noodles

After doing extensive research, I found out that these are shirataki noodles, made from a Japanese yam (that’s actually considered a vegetable).  From what I’ve read, the yam dried, ground into a flour, is then created in various noodle formats.  Because they are considered a vegetable, they have virtually no calories – and (according to this article) they’ve even been studied as an aid in controlling blood sugar and lowering cholesterol!

For me personally, I was just excited to find something that held together well.  I’ve often used spaghetti squash, such as in this recipe, but my daughter doesn’t like the texture…so I had been seeking an alternative that wouldn’t break the bank (I’ve seen some great almond flour pasta out there, but I couldn’t allow myself to spend $15 on a package!)

So, I split the package, used half of it to make my traditional spaghetti, and the other half to create a stir fry.  What a treat they both were!

Below are the steps on how to make this simple, delicious, nutritious Asian-inspired gluten-free Paleo stir-fry!

1.  OPTIONAL:  Pre-soak & cut the noodles

Once you have found a source for the noodles (I got mine from a local farmer’s market, but Asian markets often carry them on the shelf, and you may even find them on Amazon), you have the option to soak them for an hour prior to when you plan to use them.  For my spaghetti dish, I didn’t soak them; for the Asian dish, I did.  Both worked out just fine.

You may also want to cut the noodles.  They are very long and can become tangled.  Again, for the spaghetti dish, I didn’t cut them – but for the Asian dish, I did.

2.  Boil the noodles

Just as you would with regular noodles, I recommend boiling the noodles for 5-8 minutes.  As you can see, if you didn’t cut them, they will stick out of the pan due to the length.  If this occurs, make sure you stir them into the boiling water so they can become evenly softened.  Be sure to stir occasionally while boiling so that they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Gluten Free Noodles

3.  Prep the vegetables

While the noodles are soaking, gather your favorite stir-fry vegetables and chop them into nice-sized strips, between 1-3″.  In this case, I used celery, onion, carrots, red pepper, and minced garlic.  I would definitely include an onion of some sort to ensure that your stir-fry has good flavor.

4.  Saute the vegetables

Place a good grade of olive oil, about 2 tablespoons, in your favorite skillet.  Over low to medium heat, stir fry the vegetables and garlic until tender-crisp.  I also added some fresh oregano and basil.  Once the vegetables were cooked to my satisfaction, I removed them from the pan and set them aside.

5.  OPTIONAL:  Add Bacon and spinach

Whoops…I don’t think that Asian dishes contain bacon.  I took a bit of a turn, thinking I needed a little more flavor than I was getting…so I added two pieces of bacon to the pan, and some spinach for good measure.  Of course, you can leave out this step, but I definitely liked the flavor of the outcome!

6.  Saute the noodles

After the noodles were done boiling, I drained them and added a teaspoon of olive oil to help keep them from sticking together.  I added them to the pan with the bacon and stir-fryed them over medium heat for about a minute.  I added the vegetables back to the pan and stir-fried everything together for a couple of minutes.

The outcome was amazing!  My teenage kids (who, by the way, resist cooked vegetables at every turn) loved the dish.  Any hope for leftovers was gone, as the pan was essentially wiped clean of any trace evidence that there had been food there just fifteen minutes before.

Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons plus 1 Teaspoon Pure Olive Oil
• 1 package shiritaki noodles
• 3 stalks celery
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 4 large carrots
• 1 red pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced

OPTIONAL:  

• 2 slices bacon
• Spinach
• Fresh oregano and basil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Soak the noodles for one hour.  After soaking, cut the noodles in half or smaller pieces.  Boil them for 5-8 minutes.  Drain and coat with 1 teaspoon pure olive oil.

Cut vegetables into 1-3″ pieces.  Place 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a dry skillet over low to medium heat.  Saute the vegetables and minced garlic until tender-crisp.  Remove from heat and place in a bowl.

Add bacon to the skillet if desired; add the noodles and saute for 1-2 minutes.  Add the vegetable mixture back to the pan and saute all together until the flavors have combined.  Serve warm.

Enjoy!

~GGF Gourmet