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Kale Stir Fried with Glass Noodles
Kale Stir Fried with Glass Noodles and Chicken Breast
Most of the time when I tell people that I am Thai and their reactions are like "oh! I like Thai food; I like spicy food." I mean there is nothing wrong with liking spicy food, but I would like people to know that Thai food is not all about Thai chili and curry or herbs. Thai cuisine has some foods like soups, stir-frys, noodles, and fried rice that are not spicy.
I love all kind stir fry green vegetables such as broccoli, bok choy, green beans, and kale. They are full of nutrients and Thai people know what to do to make them delicious too. We bought a big bag of kale from a grocery store (too bad they do not carry small bags) to make the kale salad, and we had way too much of kale. We could not finish it, and the next day I did not feel like eating salad again. I thought there could be another way to do with the kale. I remember when I was in Thailand; green vegetables are good for stir fry recipes. So I came up with stir fried kale with glass noodles.
Why did I put glass noodles in the recipe? I wanted to create an easy entree recipe without any side but still, contains primary nutrition we need an everyday life. This recipe has only seven ingredients and only twenty minutes for preparing and cooking.
Facts About Glass Noodles
Other Names For Glass Noodles
Wikipedia lists the other names as Cellophane noodles, Chinese vermicelli, bean threads, bean thread noodles or crystal noodles.
Low Glycemic- That is they convert to blood sugar slower
Reading some of the articles I have found online I have seen authors state that glass noodles are always made from mung beans. Although they are often made from the starch of mung beans they are not always made from it. When they are however, made from mung beans, they do have a low glycemic index.
The Glycemic Index:
The glycemic index is a scale from zero to one hundred that rates how fast a food converts to blood sugar. When a food converts quickly your body suddenly has a lot of work to do which is hard on the pancreas. It also means that with more calories that we probably need at any given moment the body will store the calories as unwanted fat. When glass noodles are made from mung beans the glycemic index score is only 45 meaning that they have less a more managable effect on the body.
You can look at the ingredients on the back of the packaging to make sure their noodles are made from beans. We recently used a groupon for an Asian Bistro which had vermicelli and after receiving them it occured to me to ask for the packaging. Most restaurants will gladly give it to you understanding that there are a wide range of sensitivities. Here we discovered that our noodles were unfortunately made from rice which is now on my belly as fat.
Noodles Unfortunately Made From Rice
Nutrient Content of Glass Noodles
Although glass noodles are a fantastic source of low glycemic carbohydrates, even more carbs than spagetti in fact, they don't have much else in them. In our recipe we added one of the most nutrient dense vegetables in the world with our kale and chicken which has more lean protein per ounce than pretty much any other meat. It reminds me a little of the soup we always get at the Olive Garden restaurant near us with kale in it but without the guilt. This recipe does not lack in flavor either.
In Summary
When I add it all with the nutrition and taste together this goes down as one of my top recipes we have created so far. As always you can add or subtract spice and other ingredients as desired so don't be intimidated by the Thai spices. In fact you can make it without and add spice in later with your favorite Sriracha or other hot sauce. Let us know how you like it please in the comments section below and please share if you think you have a friend who would enjoy this recipe.
Stir Fried Chicken and Kale Glass Noodles
- • 7 oz. dry glass noodles
- • 8 oz. sliced chicken breast
- • 5 oz. coarsely chopped kale
- • 4 minced fresh garlic cloves
- • 2 tablespoon olive oil
- • 1 tablespoon seasoning soy sauce
- • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- • 1 teaspoon sweet soy sauce
- Soak glass noodles in water for 10 minutes.
- Slice the chicken breast, mince the garlic and prepare the sauce while waiting for the glass noodles.
- After 10 minutes, rinse off the water and cut glass noodles half.
- Heat olive oil in a wok on high heat.
- Add minced garlic and stir fry until it turns to gold.
- Then add sliced chicken into the wok, stir-fried it for 2-3 minutes or until all the chicken turns white.
- Add kale into the wok and quickly stir it for half a minute.
- Turn the stove to medium heat and add glass noodles, seasoning soy sauce, fish sauce, and sweet soy sauce.
- Stir fry the glass noodles for 5 minutes. You may need to add some water to the wok if the glass noodles begin to dry out and stick on the wok.
- Serve when it is hot.
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