This Food Hack Can Apparently Make Noodles Out Of Almost Anything

While the world of gluten-free and low-carb pasta has certainly improved throughout the years, pasta lovers following specific dietary guidelines will tell you that there's plenty of room for improvement. Zoodles permit an eater to have a full serving of veggies while they house a bowl of spaghetti bolognese, but spiralized vegetables can hardly masquerade as actual wheat noodles. Washing the salty slime off of tofu and shirataki noodles is a battle in itself — not to mention, the hefty price tag attached to these store-bought options. 

Different kinds of alternative pasta carry their strengths and weaknesses, but the major throughline might be this: weird texture. Food manufacturers have yet to master the art of producing substitutes that mimic the chewy, glutinous wheat-based noodle, so until that day arrives, we'll be forced to compromise. Right? Wrong! Instead, you can turn to Reddit for a cheap and easy DIY create-your-own noodle alternative. 

In the past, we've been infatuated by loaded Costco hot dogs, flipping food with foil, and budget-friendly Dunkaroos, all of which were food hacks that gained traction on Reddit. Now, a video post from user Thea_From_Juilliard demonstrates how to swirl up fresh noodles using a small list of ingredients and kitchen tools, saving you from running to the grocery store or investing in a pasta machine. 

The user claims all you need is a bowl of cold water and calcium lactate, a wooden spoon, and a squeeze bottle loaded with liquid protein — the go-to choice for Thea being a blend of water, hard-boiled eggs, salt, xanthan gum, sodium alginate, and turmeric for color. But, as the user suggests, tofu, chicken, and liquid egg yolk powder can work just as well. Once you have your ingredients, carefully stir the calcium water bath while dispensing the egg batter from the squeeze bottle. This should form long noodle strands. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using the noodles as you would regular pasta. "Mine was nice and soft. No weird smell or gelatinous quality like shirataki. I would make again," writes Thea_From_Juilliard, and with 1.9K hits on Reddit, it's clear this user is making strides for the alternative pasta-consuming community. 

This simple enough hack is an easy solution for quelling any low-carb and gluten-free noodle cravings. The hardest part might just be deciding what pasta recipe you want to put it towards first.