Yutaka White Shirataki Noodles 170g (Pack of 12) | Authentic Japanese Konjac Noodles | Vegan, Gluten-Free, High in Fiber | Almost Zero Carbs & Calories | Ideal for Keto & Low-Carb Diets

I am a Japanese living in London. This applies not only to these shirataki noodles but to konjac products in general: Newly opened packages often have a noticeable smell. This does not mean the product has gone bad. The odor comes from the alkaline coagulant (calcium hydroxide) used in the production process, as well as trimethylamine, a compound that smells similar to fish. Rinsing the product in hot water for about one minute will remove most of the odor. I mainly use shirataki to help reduce the calorie content of my meals. I’ve also included a recipe for creamy shirataki pasta by my favorite Japanese recipe creator, Ryuji. It's very easy to make and absolutely delicious, so I highly recommend giving it a try! (his YouTube channel also shows you how to make the recipes step by step) <<Creamy Shirataki Pasta>> Shirataki noodles Butter: 8 g Bacon: 30 g (Japanese bacon is quite different from the bacon available here in the UK, so I used half the amount of pancetta from Tesco instead.) Mushrooms: 50 g Consommé powder: 1½ tsp (I used the half of the Knorr beef stock pod instead) Soy milk: 200 ml (use soy milk instead of regular milk, as it thickens nicely when simmered) Cream cheese: 36 g Salt and pepper: to taste Black pepper: to taste 1. Rinse the shirataki noodles in hot water and drain thoroughly. 2. Heat a frying pan over medium heat, add 8 g of butter, and sauté torn pieces of bacon and mushrooms. 3. Once the mushrooms are cooked, add the shirataki noodles and consommé powder. Continue sautéing. 4. When the noodles have absorbed the flavor of the stock, add 200 ml of soy milk and 36 g of cream cheese. Simmer while stirring until the cheese is fully melted and combined. 5. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and add black pepper. Continue simmering until the sauce thickens (let it reduce well). Transfer to a plate and sprinkle with black pepper and dried parsley.

As others have said, these are a good, filling, low-calorie food which I suspect are highly versatile. There are a few things you should know before ordering: Yes, the package and the water inside do smell a little fishy. As a lifelong vegetarian, fish is something I've always hated the smell of, however, the fishy smell from these noodles is not the horrible pungent smell that you get from slightly old fish, it's definitely on the more pleasant end of the spectrum. In any case, if you drain and rinse the noodles in a sieve for a minute most of the fishy taste/smell will go. The noodles themselves (once rinsed) have quite a neutral taste and the texture when cooked (instructions below) is quite similar to those "straight to wok" noodles you buy from the supermarket (these also come in a pouch with liquid). I would say that the noodles do have a slightly fishy taste to them but it's by no means unpleasant and if you're going to be cooking them in a flavourful sauce or stock then you can probably mask this quite effectively. My recipe: 1 Pack Yutaka Shirataki noodles 10g of JustIngredients Essential Mixed Vegetables 1/2 teaspoon of MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE (Yes I know some people have an aversion to MSG, but it's a fantastic ingredient to add some umami "oomph" - you can leave it out if you like. 5g of Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon A sprinkle of dried chilli flakes. Drain and rinse noodles, add all ingredients into a small saucepan and top up with ~200ml of boiling water. I didn't measure precisely, just used enough to cover most of the noodles. If you're a fan of more of a "noodle soup" with lots of broth then you could of course add more water, or cook as per my instructions and then add more boiling water back in at the end. Simmer for around 5 minutes. Liquid should have reduced somewhat. Heat a small, non-stick frying pan on a medium-high heat. Pour noodles into frying pan (with no oil) and fry until water has reduced to your desired consistency. That's it! The end result is quite similar to a Nong Shim Shin Instant Noodle Cup , but only has about 50kcals total (~30kcal of which is from the dried veg). All of this is at a total cost of about £1.35 too so not that much more than the instant noodle cups but loads healthier because of the low-cal noodles. You could of course experiment with flavourings, add more spices etc. but I wanted to keep it really simple initially so that I can quickly and easily prepare them to take to work with me for lunch.

Not sure why but this stuff smells of shrimps... quite smelly. Otherwise it's fine.