Use kelp for a deceptively simple cabbage and noodle saute

The healthy noodle market is booming, thanks to low-carb fans, and so it’s no surprise that kelp noodles, which used to be a specialty-store item only, are now readily available at the neighbourhood supermarket.

Kelp noodles are a sea vegetable with a neutral flavour that makes them versatile and easy-to-use. They have only 5 or 10 calories per serving, offering almost no macronutrients (protein, carbs or fat), but they do have a nice boost of minerals, mainly calcium (a serving offers 15 per cent of the recommended daily amount) and iron.

The big benefit is finding a nearly calorie-free noodle substitute for your recipes. Kelp noodles are thin, clear and bouncy in texture; almost rubbery. So they are nice swaps in Asian noodle dishes like pad thai or spicy cold peanut noodles.

Because they are a sea plant, they need to be kept in water, so you’ll find them for sale in 12-ounce water-filled envelopes, usually next to the refrigerated tofu. Rinse and use the noodles without cooking — simply add to your recipes at the very end of cooking.

We love kelp as a swap for rice noodles, but they can easily extend outside Asian flavour profiles. One of our family favourites is a deceptively simple cabbage and noodle saute. Four ingredients are all you need to make this yummy side dish: Cabbage, onion, butter and kelp noodles.

Saute the onion and cabbage in butter, and add rinsed kelp noodles at the end just to heat through. Charlotte, my pickiest vegetable eater, has loved this noodle dish since she was tiny. (For years, she thought the cabbage was also a “noodle” which helped the overall toddler appeal, I suppose.) I use butter because I think its flavour with cabbage is magical, but feel free to use olive oil instead if you wish, perhaps adding a little garlic in that case.