Shiritaki Noodles (a review)

I'd heard about this stuff a few times in the past few years. Hungry Girl raves about them and has slew of recipes that feature these noodles. I'd seen a few articles and it seems like a lot of people either love it or hate it, but there's not much in between. It really boils down to what you're expecting form it.

What: 

Noodles traditionally made from a japanese yam. Yam-tofu blend versions of this exist in many US supermarkets.

Why: 
4oz = 15 calories. Low carb, gluten free, etc etc. It's being touted as the miracle pasta swap.  The noodles pictured here is 30 calories worth of the "spaghetti" noodles.

First Impression: 
Meh. I found them awkward to handle and they didn't react as I'd expect the noodles to. This expectation stemmed from the marketing as being a "pasta swap." This is fairly unrealistic if you're into textures and mouth-feels of foods. In that aspect, it is NOTHING like italian egg-and-semolina flour pasta. However, they are super similar in texture to Maifun and Saifun noodles found in Chinese cooking.

I rinsed them well and strained it as instructed, but they were still too wet when I went to doctor it up in the pan. The pesto doesn't "stick" to the noodles (nor would I expect any other similar sauce). I also made the mistake of adding a touch of water to the pan when cooking so there was a little too much liquid. Will keep this in mind for next time.

The Good: 
If you're used to any kind of asian glass noodle, then this is very similar to that. The texture is bouncy and I'm used to that kind of texture in a much thinner noodles. The noodles have a very neutral flavor, so it will take on whatever flavor it's cooked with. Because of the slipperiness of the noodles, I would use a little bit of a super flavorful sauce or try it as a noodle for soup in the future.

It was also very filling and I didn't get hungry for a late night snack or dessert. It's rich in fiber, apparently. A quick look online shows that a lot of people who are watching their blood sugar loves this stuff because it keeps their blood sugars in a good range and minimizes the spikes.  Usually found in asian markets, more brands are marketing it in US stores. I've seen them at Ralph's and Vons (albeit with different brand names) in the section where you'd find the tofu.

The Bad: 
It's weird to handle at first. The liquid that it is packaged in has a pungent odor, so rinsing, rinsing again, parboiling, and drying very thoroughly is a MUST when preparing the product. Also, you can't add "just a bit" of liquid as these noodles are slippery when wet and doesn't absorb the liquids it's cooked in.

The texture, if unexpected, could be off putting to some. Rather than a soft, al dente chew like you'd expect from pasta, these are slippery, bouncy, with a hint of a crunch.

The Verdict: 
I'm definitely going to try to incorporate it into my diet. I think I'll try it in some more traditional japanese recipes and experiment with my own.

Dark Chocolate Torte with Raspberry Sauce

This is one of my friends' favorite desserts. I have modified the original recipe so that it is gluten free; WW; sugar-weening friendly. 
This torte is 3 p+ per serving, 4p+ with the sauce. 1/12 full size or one muffin-cup size
242 cal for 1/8th
161 cal for 1/12th

Ingredients

The Torte: 
1/4 tsp cream of tartar   
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder   
1 and 1/2 egg yolk   
5 large egg whites   
3 oz dark chocolate - chips or finely chopped
1 c mixed granulated sweetener, 50% sugar, 50% stevia 
1/4 c and 3 tbsp Almond Meal/Flour, Finely Ground  
1/2 c hot water

The Sauce: 
8 oz raspberries
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp stevia 
1 oz lemon juice (Orange Juice if you want it sweet)
1/8 water
1/8 tsp lemon zest  

Directions: 

For the Torte: 

Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C).  Line a 12-cup muffin/cupcake pan with foil liners. PAM the liners. 

Combine the egg whites and cream of tartar in a small mixing bowl. With a hand or stand mixer, beat until soft peaks form. Gradually sprinkle in 1/4 cup of the sugar-stevia and beat on high until stiff. (If you are using a stand mixer, you can do this step as you wait for the soft peaks to form)

Combine chocolate, cocoa and 3/4 cup of the sugar-stevia mix in a large mixing bowl. Pour in the boiling water and whisk until mixture is smooth and chocolate is melted. Whisk in the egg yolks. Add almond flour and mix with a spatula until smooth. 

Gently fold in the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture in stages, about 1/4 each time. You don't want to mix out the air you've just so painstakingly whipped into it. 

Use an ice cream scoop to place equal amounts of the batter into each cup of the pan. Fill each cup so that it's almost full. Unlike cake batter, this will rise very little. Each of these cups had about 1 and 1/2 scoops of batter - about 1/3 of a cup. 

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes. This will actually rise a little bit, almost like a soufflé due to the airy egg-white base. It will be ready when an inserted toothpick comes out clean. When it cools, it will shrink a bit. 

For the Sauce: 
Combine ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a soft boil, until the raspberries are breaking apart. Place mixture into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. If it is a little thin, you can leave it on the stove under low heat so that it reduces down to a syrup. Optional: Strain seeds out by running the sauce through a fine sieve. 

To make this into a "0" point sauce/syrup, use only stevia, no suger.