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Where to buy kelp noodles?

I saw a cool recipe with a pistachio cream sauce covering kelp noodles. They look all glassy, shoe string and beautiful? Ever had them anyone? Are they common?

Comments

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    They are GOOD! You can order them online if your health food store doesn’t carry them, but I think you have to buy a case of them at a time. That wouldn’t be a problem for me, because I like them and the expiration date is usually a few months away. There was another thread about these a while back (or maybe more than one). Search in the forums.

  • 1sweetpea1sweetpea Raw Newbie

    Lexiloo, don’t buy a whole case until you’ve tried them. I don’t know if I did something wrong with mine, but they were very crunchy and I found the seaweedy smell a bit off-putting. I soaked mine in warm water for an hour and rinsed several times, but they never really got soft. I suppose this would be okay in small quantities in a Vietnamese-style salad roll with veggies, but I tried to use mine as a pasta substitute with a raw tomato-basil sauce. I took one bite and tossed the whole batch. I couldn’t eat it. I have another package and would really like to know how to use them properly. I want to give them another try, but I don’t want to waste them, since they cost me $7 (Canadian) plus shipping. If anyone has suggestions, I’m all ears.

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    The noodles will soften easily if you make a sauce containing garlic, salt & lemon. Just let them sit in the sauce until they’re as soft as you want them (the more lemon/garlic/salt, the faster they’ll soften). I make a nut-based alfredo sauce (with or without sun-dried tomatoes), and the creaminess of the sauce makes up for the non-starchiness of the kelp noodles.

  • kminty3kminty3 Raw Newbie

    I agree with Angie.. I use these all the time! They also will soften if you make an asian type sauce with some almond butter/ sesame oil, it’s my favorite! I’ve found that I only like asian type sauces on my noodles and not italian style.. can’t really explain why

  • 1sweetpea1sweetpea Raw Newbie

    I’ll try the garlic, salt and lemon sauce concept. I’m all for these noodles, in theory. As long as I can get the taste and texture to improve, I want these as a noodle option, particularly when I’m making cooked pasta for my boyfriend and for other company. They get a little uncomfortable if I make something totally different for them, but if I have my noodles and they have theirs, as long as the sauce and accompaniments are the same, they hardly even notice.

    Should I also be presoaking them and if so, for how long? Thanks for the suggestions!

  • No need to pre-soak the kelp noodles. The package says to rinse them, but I usually don’t even do that.

  • AKAAuburnEyesAKAAuburnEyes Raw Newbie

    Do the kelp noodles need to be refrigerated?

  • http://www.rawlife.com/store/home.php I just ordered some kelp noodles!

  • 1sweetpea1sweetpea Raw Newbie

    The package says to refrigerate after opening.

  • thanks guys. :)

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    I’m going to check with the company to be sure on the refrigeration thing. They’re always refrigerated when I buy them at the health food stores, so I always keep them in the fridge. It would be great if I didn’t have to!

  • AKAAuburnEyesAKAAuburnEyes Raw Newbie

    That’s the one thing that has me hesitating with buying a case … Space in the fridge!!!

  • 1sweetpea1sweetpea Raw Newbie

    I ordered mine online and they weren’t refrigerated. On the front of the package it says: Refrigerate after opening. The serving and storage instructions on the back of the package are the following: Rinse in water before preparing. Cut the noodles to desired length. Store in water after opening. DO NOT FREEZE OR DRY. So, I take that to mean that if I don’t make use of the entire package in one go, I should put the remainder in a bowl of fresh water, cover (to keep odours out) and refrigerate.

    My kelp noodles have an expiry date on them. I bought them in September and the expiry date is 03.14.2009. As long as you enjoy eating them, I think it would be relatively easy to get through 12 packs in a 6-month period. If you’re concerned, post a thread asking if anyone lives near you that might like to split a case with you. I love the idea of one person making a bulk order to save money, then sharing the items and costs with friends. I live in Southern Ontario. If anyone in the Toronto, London, Windsor or Detroit area would like to do that kind of thing, I would definitely consider it, particularly when certain companies offer free shipping on large orders.

  • AKAAuburnEyesAKAAuburnEyes Raw Newbie

    Thank you 1sweetpea, that is perfect information and helps me a great deal!

  • carrie6292carrie6292 Raw Newbie

    I don’t care for these because of the odd crunch – and i’ve soaked mine for a while before using – and i’ve even tried dehydrating them. I tried them a few times and i just don’t like them. I bought 2 single packets from Sea Tangle (you can google or yahoo them)... just fax them your order (i ordered 1 pack of regular and one pack of green tea noodles – didn’t notice a difference with either). With your order, include your shipping info and your CC info. They arrive in about a week or so, depending on where you are (im in NY and they’re in CA).

    I hope this helps!

  • Yeah I need to find soft ones, my friend made some that were super soft, I found some but where too crunchy and crispy I was surprised it was not silky soft like my friend’s! I gotta find and try different ones…I don’t like to order online but like to buy in the store…but anyone know of certain softer brands?

  • angie207angie207 Raw Master

    rawbryan & carrie6292 – They always start out crunchy, & water won’t soften them. Look at my post above about a sauce to soften them. :)

  • JoyceHJoyceH Raw Newbie

    I’ve been meaning to post on this topic since I just started using the kelp noodles. I decided to order some from Matt Monarch’s website since his newsletter was promoting them as a new product. He uses the Sea Tangle products.

    When I first opened the package I did smell that weird formaldahyde odor that people here were previously discussing. I read elsewhere that this is not formaldahyde or anything toxic, just an odor from the kelp. After rinsing the noodles the smell went away (it wasn’t that bad to begin with). At this point the noodles will be crunchy. Here’s what I did for nice soft noodles at dinner time. In the mid morning I soaked the noodles in warm water with lemon juice and sea salt. Then after about 30-45 minutes I rinsed and put them back into plain water to soak for most of the day while we were out and about doing errands and such. When we returned home later that afternoon I was pleased to find nice big soft noodles that looked like rice noodles and tasted very neutral.

    So far I like making this lovely mild red pepper aioli sauce for the kelp noodles. But I believe any raw sauce or dressing would be lovely. These noodles are really super cool and the possibilities are endless.

    Here’s where I got mine:

    http://www.rawveganbooks.com/index.php?osCsid=e…

    Carrie – did you soak them in salt and lemon juice first? If you have any more packages left, try that. And also try soaking them for several hours in plain warm water after the salt and lemon juice. This worked out really well.

  • AKAAuburnEyesAKAAuburnEyes Raw Newbie

    I ordered 2 packages from Natural Zing yesterday and can’t wait to try them, they are actually due to arrive today. If I like them I will order directly from Sea Tangle to save money and split the order with a friend locally.

  • 1sweetpea1sweetpea Raw Newbie

    I’m so happy to hear this, JoyceH. I’ve been fretting as to how to make them palatable. After paying $7 (plus shipping), I don’t want them to go to waste. I’m thinking of making essentially a tomato-basil-garlic bruschetta topping, but using as a sauce, which I often do. Normally, I’d use zucchini noodles and make cooked pasta for my BF, but maybe he’ll like the kelp noodles if they’re nice and soft … saves me having to make two different sets of noodles. If there’s lemon juice going into the softening process, then I can incorporate some lemon zest into my bruschetta. While I’m at it, I’ll ask another question: does anyone have any tips for softening raw broccoli, so that it tastes somewhat cooked? I have a dehydrator, but I don’t really want to suck out too much moisture.

  • JoyceHJoyceH Raw Newbie

    1sweetpea- for softening veggies, I’m going to try Ofek’s new method for getting veggies soft. He soaks all kinds of veggies in Apple cider vinegar which is supposed to soften them. I plan on tyring this over the weekend or sometime in the near future:

    http://www.goneraw.com/recipes/5969-Sauteed-veg…

    My picky husband is not a fan of zucchini noodles but really liked the kelp noodles. Hope they work well for you too :-)

  • 1sweetpea1sweetpea Raw Newbie

    I’m in the same boat. I quite like zucchini noodles, but my BF thinks they’re crunchy, watery and boring. I’ve got loads of raw ACV, so I’ll give it a go too. Thanks so much!

  • 1sweetpea1sweetpea Raw Newbie

    Okay, I’m a convert! I made kelp noodles tonight for dinner and my non-raw BF loved them. I soaked them in warm water with lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and sea salt. After an hour, I rinsed them well and refilled the bowl with warm water. I put our pasta bowls in the oven at 170 degrees F to warm up. When the oven reached that temperature, I opened the door to let some heat out and turned the oven off. I put the bowl with the water and noodles in and let it sit for another half hour or so. I made my sauce and toppings and when it was time to assemble, I drained the noodles and divided them into our bowls. They were soft and awesome! The bowls and noodles were warm, while my sauce was room temperature. The meal was served warm-ish and was delicious. I think it’s time to make another online order. Maybe I’ll go for a whole case!

  • AKAAuburnEyesAKAAuburnEyes Raw Newbie

    I have my first batch marinating in the juice of 1.5 lemons, a big pressed clove of garlic and a little sea salt ... they seem to be doing well. Can't wait to try them tonight, having them as a "pasta" under the raw caponata from this site.

  • Thanks all for posting on this, I have been wondering about kelp noodles myself! I can't wait to order some. I have a package of "tofu" noodles at home-not raw I realize-so I am excited to see how I do with those before I order my kelp noodles. There is a great recipe on this site for a "alfredo" sauce to use with this.

    With the weather getting chilly I am excited for these yummy recipes!

    R4R

  • AKAAuburnEyesAKAAuburnEyes Raw Newbie

    They were great, Angie's advice is the perfect way to prepare them. I will definitely be ordering a case from Sea Tangle as soon as possible.

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