January 16, 2013

shira-sucki

Here's the story of how I tried to make panang curry with shirataki noodles at home and it wasn't great. So, obviously, I've been eating healthy and generally doing my best not to serve meals heavy on white carbs or high in fat. When I heard about shirataki noodles recently, I got really excited. I mean - hello! - virtually carb free noodles? Yes please. After reading a bunch of reviews I was feeling kind of nervous but I thought I'd give it a shot.
I bought a bag of tofu shirataki noodles at Sprouts and had them in my fridge for a few weeks (they don't expire until March!) but I kept postponing using them. I think I was not all that excited about the stench that several reviewers warned about while rinsing and draining (they were right). I am on a HUGE Thai food kick right now and have been loving panang curry so when I saw this recipe I got really excited to try it. I'll be honest - it wasn't great (sad face). If you decide to try it anyway, here's my opinion on how it can be improved:

1. It was WAYYYY too heavy on the fish sauce. Fish sauce adds great flavor but this was ridiculously strong. I would do half the amount called for.
2. The entire dish was really spicy - granted, I am a bit of a wimp but not overly so. I feel like the sauce would have been better with a little less curry paste and more coconut milk (I followed the recipe except I used lite coconut milk and the original poster's picture looks like her sauce is quite a bit lighter than mine which makes me think that her measurements might be off - I would do less than 1 Tbsp. curry paste to 1 cup coconut milk and also up the veggies but that's how I like it).
3. The noodles were actually pretty good. That wasn't the issue but next time maybe I'll try the yam ones.
4. This needs cilantro because everything is better with cilantro - unless you're one of those sad, sad people who think it tastes like soap.

4 comments:

  1. Oh Thai food, be still my soul. Nom nom nom. And I feel the same sadness for those who's palates aren't pleased by cilantro. I love it and pretty much always have a bundle in the fridge. Thanks for the recipe tweaks, I'll have to give it and the shirataki noodles a try.

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  2. Hey Liz, I think I am starting on the same program you are. Being the amazing chef that you are, what have been some of your favorite Lean and Green Meals?

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  3. We love Thai too- if we're celebrating an anniversary or birthday we almost always go out for Thai or Indian. Have you tried Thai Siam in SLC? My husband thinks it's the best Thai he's ever had. ANYWAYS, I made this http://www.cookingforseven.com/2011/01/coconut-chicken-curry-soup/ last week, and we loved it. I followed the recipe, but did add about 1/-4-1/2 tsp garam masala. We did eat it over rice- it doesn't make a lot of broth, so I would consider it more of a sauce to serve over rice. My husband couldn't get enough of it- try it! :0)

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  4. I cooked with fish sauce once and the stench almost killed me. And I didn't use a lot, that was seriously just from opening the bottle. Maybe it was the wrong brand? We did get it an an Asian store, so maybe it said "extra strong" in Asian characters we can't read on the bottle or something. I've pretty much vowed to never use it again, but I know it makes so many dishes more authentic! What a dilemma.

    P.S.--I hate when recipes just don't quite work out. So disappointing.

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