I have come across a few low carb rice pudding recipes over the years, most with cauliflower rice, and then some with konjac rice. They never really appealed to me, until I saw a post by Naomi Sherman (https://naomishermanfoodcreative.com) on Instagram of a rice pudding. It just looked so incredibly beautiful and delicious. When I looked at the ingredients and saw konjac rice, I thought, maybe I should just try it – who knows, it might be good.

So I tried it. Not Naomi Sherman’s recipe, rather, a made-up recipe using konjac rice. The inspiration definitely came from her though. And it turned out wonderfully. What I did notice, however, is that the brand of konjac noodles that I use is different to hers – the rice ‘grains’ are larger – so I blitz them in my small food processor before adding them to the pudding. 

My recipe is incredibly quick and easy to make. It is not like the classic, in that I don’t make a custard with eggs, but rather a creamy vanilla pudding using my kefir cream. I imagine double cream will work too. The first time I made it, I just added a handful of blueberries and almonds (once the pudding was cold). Although it was a lovely bowl of creamy, sweet and crunchy delight, the best appears to be: rice pudding topped with apricot jam. The tangy sweetness just pairs so absolutely wonderfully with the pudding. I do like fruit pieces in my jam, and that also works well with the slight bite of the konjac rice.

Rice Pudding

Ingredients:

• 200g Konjac Rice Noodles
• ½ cup *Cream and Milk Kefir
• 1/3 cup Water + 2 Tbsp
• ¾ tsp Glucomannan powder
• 1 tsp Erythritol-Stevia Blend (or sweetener of choice)
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• Generous few pinches of Maldon sea salt flakes
• Jam (recipes for apricot and blueberry sugar-free jam is on my blog)

*I often make kefir using half milk and half cream.

If this is not available: I think that using ¼ cup milk (or regular kefir) and ¼ cup cream will work fine – perhaps just use 1 tsp glucomannan powder instead of ¾ tsp.

Method:

• Rinse konjac noodles using a sieve/colander with small holes.
• Shake excess water out.
• If konjac rice grains are large (like four regular rice grains together in size): Place konjac into a small food processor and pulse a few times – not too much, or it will all just blend into a mush! This is also optional.
• Pour the kefir, water and sweetener into a small pot and place on lowest heat. Get a small whisk.
• Pour 2 Tbsp water into a ramekin. Add glucomannan, mix vigorously and then quickly pour mix into the pot, while whisking (the cream mixture). Do this all very quickly to avoid the glucomannan forming lumps.
• As soon as it starts to thicken, turn the heat off.
• Add salt and vanilla. Taste and add more salt and/or sweetener if needed.
• Spoon into serving dishes. I actually eat the whole lot for breakfast, but I suppose most people would only eat half. And if it is being served as a pudding (as in, for dessert) then I would say it makes 4-6 servings.
• Allow to cool, then place into the fridge until it is cold.
• To serve: top with jam and sliced fruit (optional)