Last update September 2, 2025

Japanese Food - Konnyaku -

Konnyaku

こんにゃく, 蒟蒻

Konjac Cake or a devil’s tongue starch paste

Devil’s tongue, voodoo lily, or snake palm... Forget about the plant’s name that goes on. Because it’s not such a spooky food even if it may look like that. In fact, it’s a blessed food. Effectively dealing with metabolic syndrome, it can prevent obesity, diabetes, osteoporosis and constipation, control cholesterol, and so on. So what are we waiting for? Let’s go to the supermarket and have some Sashimi Konnyaku for an appetiser, Shirataki to replace our pasta, and some blocks for our Dengaku, Nimono, and even Oden. Dessert? Don’t think about high-calorie sweets. As a health and beauty-conscious person, you should definitely try fruit Konnyaku jelly. The taste is almost identical to real one in flavour but a little more chewy and elastic (The longer stay in the mouth, the less entry to the stomach!). With a high water content (over 90% of the ingredients) and extremely low calorie, no wonder, it’s used in many diet food products. But please be cautioned: Elderly people and infants may have the difficulty of swallowing, which may cause an accident!

Konnyaku cooked in Nimono.

Commercial Konnyaku fruit jelly product.

Colourful Konnyaku for Osechi Ryori.

Konnyaku cooked in Nimono.

Commercial Konnyaku fruit jelly product.

Colourful Konnyaku for Osechi Ryori.