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carrie6292
Raw Newbie
Okay, so i finally purchased 2 bags of kelp noodles. I want to try these out tomorrow. I was wondering if anyone can give me a really really good sauce to use on these? I don’t like sea veggies normally but i hear they’re not strong flavored. So, anything without sea veggies would be good :) I found an alfredo recipe that was used on Kelp noodles, but i wasn’t very fond of the sauce itself. Any suggestions would be great! Can’t wait to try these!!
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I haven’t made kelp noodles, but I’ve used wakame which is similar. I think that it’s really good with sesame oil (sorry, I know that is not raw), fresh slices of ginger (I use a lot of it!), chopped cucumber, and sesame seeds.
First I soak the wakame (or other sea vegetable) in enough water to let it swell a bit, but I personally don’t like it water-logged. I let it absorb the water for a few minutes then mix in the other ingredients. Maybe I’ll post this recipe…. Oh… I almost forgot – I use Apple Cider Vinegar too!
These are my new addiction. I love them with the Peanut Dipping Sauce on this site: http://www.goneraw.com/recipes/1127-Peanut-Dipp… I toss it up and then warm it in the deydrator for an hour or less and add chopped cilantro before I eat it. The noodles get really soft and soak up the sauce, kind of like Pad Thai. They won’t taste like seaweed at all!
I just posted the recipe – then I did a search and found out that mandelicious had posted one in February that is very similar… only I used cucumbers and she uses honey/agave/or maple syrup and red pepper flakes. Hers sounds fabulous. I don’t gravitate to sweet too often, but the rp flakes!!! What a great idea! I love spicy. Thanks mandelicious!
Thank you both! I think i’ll make one for dinner tomorrow night and the other for lunch the next day :) I can’t possibly eat the whole bag by myself in one day! I’m so excited to try these out! Greenhost – i have bought cold pressed sesame oil that is considered raw since it’s not toasted and heated. So, as long as it says cold pressed, it should be okay. I love sesame oil and even if it’s not raw, it’s okay by me! Amysue – i’ve been wanting to try this dip, so thanks for reminding me about it! I was reading the back of the package and they have something similar so i thought i’d try it out. I also have a piece of coconut in my fridge and i thought i’d blend that with some raw almond butter, chile pepper, cilantro, mint and basil to make a Pad Thai of sorts. Hmmm.. maybe the package will have to last me through 3 meals :) Thanks so much for the tips and recipes!!!
You may eat more than you plan! When you dehydrate the noodles, not only will they absorb the sauce, they will shrink down quite a bit, so you may need to add some veggies if you’re trying to feed the family. The Peanut Sauce is one of my basics for dipping vietnamese rolls, or tossing with zucchini noodles, or a salad of chopped bok choy and cucumbers, carrot…love it.
I did not realize (duh) that cold-pressed sesame oil existed. That’s great! I will have to keep an eye out for it because I love sesame oil. Thanks for writing about it carrie6292. And the peanut-dip mentioned by amysue sounds fabulous. Cheers! :)
Where you guys buy your kelp noodles at? Asian markets? Japanese? How are they different from just buying the kelp itself?
queenfluff, I get Wakame at my local health food store. The brand is “Emerald Cove” And I guess they aren’t technically noodles – well, at least they are not long spaghetti-type noodles. Actually they look like really dark green & thin egg noodles (for lack of a better description)
I’m not honestly sure what kelp noodles are. The only kelp that I have seen looks like 1 inch wide, 6 inch long strips.
Queenfluff- i ordered my online from Sea Tangle. If you google or yahoo search Kelp Noodles, it’s the first site that pops up. I emailed them because they only sell in cases, but they sent me a package of each type – they have regular kelp noodles and green tea kelp noodles. I just made my first batch. They’re interesting. I didn’t think they’d be crunchy, but they are. Have you ever had the cellophane noodles from asian places? They’re very similar to those. And, they do not taste like seaweed – I am not a fan of sea weed at all!!!
Amysue – i didn’t dehydrate them. Do they get less crispy when you dehydrate them? I felt like i was eating real asian food. I made my own concoction tonight and wasn’t thrilled by it… just didn’t turn out the way i had hoped :( So, tomorrow i’m going to use the peanut sauce recipe from this site. I think i’ll try it plain on the noodles and then have some veggies cut up and ready to toss in if i need it. I’d like to figure out if i like these or not :) they’re just different!
Greenghost – i know, i was so happy when i found the cold pressed sesame oil. Not as strong of a flavor as the toasted, but it’s still great!
The texture changes completely when you warm it in the saucce- not crunchy and wet, more like soft angel hair pasta, like nothing else raw, so really nice. I haven’t noticed any difference in taste between the two different kinds.
queenfluff – I got mine at the health food store, you might have to ask them to order it. They’re clear like rice noodles, not green like seaweed.
Yeah, if you live in California (or near there), your health food store can order them… i live in NY and my health food store won’t carry them :(
Amysue – that is so exciting that the texture changes! I think i might make the peanut sauce tonight, dehydrate for an hour or so in the morning and then eat them for lunch (i have to leave my house at 9 and won’t be back until about 3)... is an hour what you normally do? Now i can’t wait :) yay!
Amysue – i just have to say, thank you! I just made that Peanut Dipping Sauce and it is soooooooooooooooooooooooo delicious! It reminds me of the Thai Wraps from Sarma & Matt’s book – yum!!!! I can’t wait to have it all together tomorrow :)
I have been experimenting with these for a couple of months. They are SO versatile! I made a fruit salad last week with and orange juice and lime marinade, then I drained and added fresh fruit. I also like to make an italian type salad using olive oil and vinegar, olives, onions, garlic, basil, tomato, etc. These noodles are just too much fun, lol.
Ha! Thanks, Kevin! I bet they would be good with fruit salad b/c of the crunch! I also think they’d be good cut up and added to the Asian Almond Slaw recipe on this site :) I’m gonna keep playing around with them! Thanks for sharing your recipes w/ Kelp Noodles!
An hour to dehydrate should be fine, and you might want to stir it up every 20 minutes so the sauce gets distributed. So glad you liked the sauce, although I had nothing to do with it other than loving it.
I never would have thought of the fruit idea, but they are so neutral. They are what I find myself munching on late at night.
OMFG!!! haha sorry to get so teeny-bopper, but this is how i feel about kelp noodles. i just tried them for the first time this weekend and WOW! definitely like nothing else that is raw… i really think this will save me from cheating on italian food ever again (well, at least 9 times out of 10 that the desire strikes.) i can’t wait to try them with the peanut sauce! going to go buy more tomorrow and get that going. this time i made an easy marinara sauce/ pesto hybrid out of pine nuts, marinated sun-dried tomatoes, basil, oregano, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt, and pepper… and they were delicious!
i discovered that you don’t even need a dehydrator to get them to that soft angel hair consistency. if you just let them soak in the sauce for a couple of hours covered on the counter top it does the same thing. and oh man sooo much like real angel hair pasta.
only problem was, i was so excited to be eating something so like pasta, that i ate way too much and then felt kind of sick. but oh it was worth it.
i think this will be my new entree staple when i make raw dinners for non-raw friends.
I have some but couldn’t figure out what do with them. I’ll try the peanut & marinara sauce and see if I can handle it.
dorian don’t – this is how I felt in the beginning, real noodles!! I have found myself making up the peanut sauce at 9:30 at night just so I can eat it with my noodles for a snack.
I buy kelp noodles all the time and to get them un-crunchy I put vinegar over them (you can make a sauce with vinegar in it and it does the same thing-presto- real noodle texture) the longer they sit the better.
I just ordered a case today! I hope I love them as much as all of you do. Mystic, how much vinegar do you use? And, then do you put a sauce on them afterwards?
lovely suggestions everyone! i can’t wait to order some. how long do they keep in the fridge, unopened?
Winona – not sure, but I would guess about 2 weeks? Maybe more? I’ve had an opened bag in the fridge for a week and they were fine.
What I do is put some balsamic vinegar and oil on the noodles let that sit for an hour or more(depends on how much time you have) then if you want just add some ground nut/seeds to that and whatever fresh herbs to that you like. But if you don’t like vinegar I’m sure you could add some other sauce and let that sit and that would be fine (may take a little longer not sure).
A sauce with either garlic, or salt, or lemon juice (I use all three in a sun-dried tomato alfredo sauce) will soften the noodles – I put extra lemon & salt, and mine goes much quicker than an hour – I don’t like to wait that long! I think I usually let mine sit for maybe 15 minutes and they are soft. Plus, the creaminess of the sauce takes the place of the starchy filling-ness of pasta. I LOVE kelp noodles!
Hey carrie6292 – I found a site that sells the Sea Tangle noodles you mentioned – by the pack.
http://www.kgrocer.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIE…
It is probably cheaper to get them by the case from Sea Tangle
http://www.kelpnoodles.com/index.html, but if someone just wants to try them out they might just choose to buy a pack or two from the first linked site.
Cheers! :)
These Kelp noodles seem too good to be true.. Are they truly a raw product?
To warm & soften them (without a dehydrator): Soak them in warm water for a minute or two, then drain really well in a colander. Warm & soft & ready for sauce!
geespeen – Yes, they say right on the package that they are a raw food. Enjoy!
Thanks so much for all of your great suggestions and ideas! I’m taking my pack of Green Tea Kelp Noodles home with me in 2 weeks (oh, i’m hoping they keep for longer than 2 weeks, because i’ve had them for a week already and i’m not sure how long they were in the package prior to that!)... I’m going to try the other alfredo sauce w/ the sun dried tomatoes… or maybe the vinegar!
I’m not sure if i said it already, but if there’s anyone who was addicated to Raamen Noodles, then these are the product for you!!!! I liked the Peanut Sauce, but they were too sticky and starchy for me with that type of sauce. I’m gonna try a more “watery” sauce next time.
So many great ideas! Thanks!!!
tried them with the peanut sauce and some cilantro, and i loved it!! and even better, i made sure not to make too much this time, so i didn’t get too excited, and ate just enough to satisfy without then making myself sick.
carrie292 – there should be an expiration date on the package… mine say they won’t expire until jan 09. let us know how it goes when you try a different sauce! i loved the peanut, but i agree that it’s very rich and not something i can eat too much of in one sitting.
i’d love to try to make some kind of raw chow mein with them!