Today we are looking at three "pasta products" for review: The Asian Lungkuw vermicelli "mung bean starch," SamMills product "Pasta d'oro" made out of corn and the spaghetti product, Healthland spaghetti, made out of corn and rice.
Mung Bean Starch (Lungkuw vermicelli)
The mung bean starch for $2.99 at the Asian Market was definitely the best buy. Mung bean starch is starch extracted from mung bean flour. What is mung bean flour? Otherwise known as "bean sprouts" in America; bean sprouts are nothing but "mung bean spouts" in Asia. Mung bean starch is the clear noodles you may see in stews or soups in Asian cooking. Each 3 oz serving of clear noodles equals 45 grams of carbs, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of protein, 1 gram of sugar, 2% calcium and 3% iron. Basically, it's a "filler product" much like our flour is in America. Calories are only 85 though. Rice noodle soup would be the number one item to add mung bean starch to or perhaps noodle stir fry.*****
Corn pasta (SamMills Pasto d'oro)
The corn pasta was given to me at a Celiac's of Baton Rouge gluten free meeting. Because the corn pasta is made out of corn, I already knew it was "delicate." When you are dealing with "corn pasta" or "rice pasta with and without corn," you must cook very sparingly. In fact, the more acceptable way to cook this pasta would be to boil the water, place the pasta in it, then turn off the water. Much like you do an egg when you boil it. After a few minutes in the submerged boiling water, the pasta should be cooked. The tuna casserole dish I made with the pasta turned out just fine; however, the next day the leftover pasta turned to mush. Still, the product was acceptable with a 3 star rating. ***
Corn and Rice (Heartland spaghetti)
The corn and rice pasta is much like the corn pasta in that it is very delicate and has a tendency to turn mushy if you cook it too long. Again, you might try to boil the water and then submerge the pasta in the water for a few minutes. Remove as soon as it's done. If further cooking is necessary, then remove the pasta only half done as it witll finish cooking later. For example, if you are making "stir fry" then the pasta will be cooked again when you stir it into the vegetables. The Heartland spaghetti was purchased at Walmart for $2.18 which is another bargain as it made a large black pot of stir fry. Because it can be purchased at Walmarts for such a low price I rated it 4 stars. ****
In closing the Mung Bean Starch (Lungkuw vermicelli) was given a rating of 5 stars, the Corn and Rice (Heartland spaghetti) was given a rating of 4 stars and the Corn pasta (SamMills Pasto d'oro) was given a rating of 3 stars due to the "mush factor."
Asian Market
110 Arnould Blvd.
Lafayette, La.
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