Veggie stir fry with shirataki noodles

Have you ever tried Tofu Shirataki?   They are noodles made with tofu and yam flour.  They are super easy to make, extremely low calorie and best of all, gluten free!  (Our local grocery stores sells them in the produce department, where they sell tofu and other vegetarian things.)  They are kind of expensive so I like to use them as an accompaniment to the main course.  They don't taste like much by themselves, but like tofu, it picks up the flavors well and are delicious with a stir fry sauce and lots of fresh summer veggies.

The noodles come in a little pouch, floating in water and require a little bit of prep work.  Dump them in a colander and rinse well.  Then microwave for a minute (or parboil for 2 minutes) and drain.  Depending on what your doing with them, you may want to dry them in paper towels but you don't need to do that for this recipe.   Any water that clings to the noodles, becomes part of the sauce.  While the noodles are draining in a fine mesh colander, I use a scissors to cut them into smaller pieces. This makes it much easier to mix them into the veggies.

This makes a nice light meal but for something more substantial, you may want to add some protein.  Shirataki noodles have tofu in them but they are lacking in the protein department!  Marinate tofu or chicken cubes in some of the stir fry sauce.  Stir fry until done and set aside.  Continue cooking your veggies and add the protein when you add the noodles. 

This is really easy to make.  Saute veggies, add stir fry sauce, stir in prepared noodles, eat. These are the veggies we had in the fridge but you can use whatever veggies you like or that happen to be in your fridge.  I made my own sauce but you can use your favorite bottled sauce.

Veggie Stir Fry with Shirataki Noodles

• 1 package shirataki spaghetti
• 1 tablespoon veggie oil
• about 1 cup of broccoli florets
• 2 carrots, sliced
• a small zucchini, cut in half and sliced into moons
• about 4 ounces of mushrooms, sliced
• a half of red pepper, cut into chunks
• 2 green onions, sliced

Stir fry sauce:

• 2 tablespoons GF soy sauce
• 2-3 tablespoon rice wine, apple juice or water
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar, honey or maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon toasted or regular sesame oil
• 1 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• a small pinch of red pepper flakes

Drain and rinse shirataki spaghetti.  Microwave for 1 minute or parboil for 2 minutes.  Drain again.  Use a scissors to cut noodles into smaller pieces and set aside.

Combine all of the stir fry sauce ingredients and set aside.

In a wok or large frying pan, add broccoli and carrots and a tablespoon of water.  Cover and steam for 2 or 3 minutes.  (Don't answer the phone because they will over cook, like mine did!)
Add a tablespoon of veggie oil.
When the broccoli and carrots start to sizzle, add the mushrooms, zucchini and red pepper and stir fry until tender crisp.
Stir in the green onions and the stir fry sauce.
Add the noodles.
Stir and simmer for a minute or 2, until sauce thickens and noodles are mixed in.
Remove from heat and serve.

Serves: 2