Shirataki Chicken Lo Mein

The world seems to be conspiring against my attempts to blog lately. This weekend, I suffered some computer problems. My techy hubby managed to get a temporary fix for those. Hope this holds a while. Now my camera has turned against me.

After turning my lunch into a ghastly conglomeration of purple and green, I decided to wait until dinner. Who wants to dine on purple roast beef lettuce rolls? I tried to fix the color of the beef, but then the leaf lettuce turned antifreeze green. How the roast beef turned the same color as the red onion in my photos, only my camera knows. See?



I decided I would run more people away with those pics. Besides, dinner promised to be an adventure...After a real life lunch of delicious shaved roast beef topped with blue cheese dressing and red onion, I set my sights on dinner. No beef to turn odd colors, and I've never had a problem photographing chicken. Well, almost never. I'm certainly no photographer. Still hoping for a new camera for my birthday, but we will all have to wait and see.

My friend Shelley, also a type two diabetic, is trying her best to adapt to a low carb lifestyle. She decided to try Shirataki noodles to make her favorite Alfredo sauce. She just couldn't handle the mouth feel of the noodles, and gave her extras for me to sample. If you aren't familiar with them, these are low carb "noodles" made from tofu and konjac. I hadn't even known I could buy them locally, and was way too cheap to pay the shipping for a product I know gets mixed reviews. But for free? Yep, I am up for the challenge. My first thought was to make a Chicken Alfredo. But then, that is what Shelley didn't like. I researched online and found many who suggest to cook the rinsed noodles in a skillet to firm the texture up a bit. Others say to boil them to reduce the rubbery texture.



I decided to forgo the Alfredo sauce and go with a Chinese theme. Despite the fact that my last blog featured Chinese chicken, we really hadn't had any chicken since then. Honest, we don't eat the same things all the time. Tonight's experiment worked out pretty well, although the noodles would never pass for true lo mein noodles. I think I will consider them in a food group completely unto themselves. They aren't bad; they just aren't pasta. Here's what we ate tonight, and finished. Guess that means they aren't too gross. They didn't get fed to the dogs.

Shirataki Chicken Lo Mein

1 package Shirataki noodles (I used fettuccine)
2 cups diced chicken
1 14 ounce bag of frozen stir fry blend veggies
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon mild vegetable or coconut oil
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
1/8 cup diced peanuts

Rinse Shirataki noodles very well in a colander. Let drain well and dry off by hand with a paper towel. Place one tablespoon of sesame oil in a skillet. Cook the noodles over medium heat and stir continuously for several minutes. They may begin to make a popping sound. Add a sprinkle of salt as well. Taste the noodles and continue cooking until they have a firmer texture. Sprinkle with a bit of soy sauce and remove from heat.

Add the remaining sesame oil to the skillet and add the vegetable or coconut oil as well. Add the chicken strips and cook until almost done. You may use frozen pre-cooked chicken cubes as well. Add the vegetables and stir fry to your preference. Sprinkle this mixture with the spices and soy sauce. Return the noodles to the skillet and stir everything together. Once plated, sprinkle chopped nuts over the lo mein.

John liked the dinner; I liked mine better when I added some hot pepper sauce. Then came photo time. I took the shots as usual, then ate my dinner. Once I loaded them onto the computer I see that I am still having some camera problems, as the focus seemed to be...well, not exactly focused. So, what you are left with is a nice close up of our dinner tonight. This is the portion that was in focus. Oh well, you get what you get. Hopefully, things will work out better tomorrow. Real life at hour house again.