Konnyaku: Broom for the Stomach

A broom for the stomach does not sound very appetizing, but it does sound useful after a holiday season of eating!


The picture shows konnyaku, which the Japanese call the broom for the stomach because it is hard to digest and "sweeps" right through your intestines. It is mostly water and glucomannin (a type of dietary fiber), contains only 10 calories, has very little flavor of its own and absorbs flavors when cooked with other ingredients. The Japanese love it, producing 66,900 tons of it in 2009!


Konnyaku was first introduced to Japan by the Chinese over 1500 years ago as a medicine. It is made from the corm of the herbaceous perennial plant, Amophophallus Konjac, which grows wild in Southeast Asia and China. The corm, also referred to as a potato or yam is ground into flour, then mixed with lime water to form the gel-like consistency.


Claims exist that konnyaku protects against intestinal cancer, hemorrhoids, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and obesity. However, the USFDA does not support those claims. In fact konnyaku has caused deaths from suffocation. It is similar to jello, which dissolves in the mouth. However, konnyaku must be chewed thoroughly because it does not dissolve. A number of children and elderly adults sucked konnyaku into their mouths and it became lodged in their tracheas causing them to die. 


Konnyaku is safe though if you cut it up and stir-fry it with other ingredients. I found it at the Korean food store, and I bought it because it was called a yam cake and it had the wonderful gel-like texture.

So today I decided to cook with it. I read some recipes, but didn't follow any really carefully. I used sesame oil for the stir fry, so in my research, I found a great reference about cooking oils. You should visit the site if you have any questions about various oils and the temperatures at which they will burn.


I found out that you need to drain the liquid from the konnyaku package, then rinse the konnyaku under cold water. Then dunk the konnyaku into boiling water for about 2 minutes. This will remove the foul taste of lime water.


As I prepared the konnyaku, I cut about half a pound of pork into small strips. Also, I chopped celery, and spring onions (about 3 celery stalks and 4 spring onions. I also minced 3 cloves of garlic and two small pieces of ginger. I cut a Meyer's Lemon in half and used the juice from one of the halves.


I then sliced the prepared konnyaku, heated my wok and put the slices in without anything else. This removed any additional foul-tasting water. I then added sesame oil and soy sauce and the pork. When they seemed to be thoroughly cooked, I added the celery, green onions, garlic, lemon juice, and ginger, salt and pepper.


This was really easy, and I plan to use it for my lunch at work a couple of days this week. It is a low-calorie meal, and the konnyaku will make me feel satisfied with small amounts.

I'm glad that I did this little experiment. The dish tastes good and is quick and easily modified to taste. I thought about adding rice vinegar and other spices to give it more zest. I am not crazy about spicy food, so my result might taste bland to some people. Adding some chili paste or powder, or fresh chilies will probably be a great addition!






More information can be found at 
http://www.justhungry.com/2007/01/konnyaku_and_shirataki_ojftmhy.html
http://www.shakespeare-w.com/english/konnyaku/whatis.html
http://gajet-gunmania.blogspot.com/2010/09/konnyaku-miracle-diet-food-or.html
http://www.glutenfreeda.com/aug08-konnyaku.asp