Article: Konjac

?Konnyaku
Inflorescences
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Order: Alismatales Family: Araceae Genus: Amorphophallus Species: A. konjac
Binomial name
Amorphophallus konjac K. Koch

Konjac (Amorphophallus konjac; syn. A. rivieri; Japanese: 蒟蒻; konnyaku; Chinese: 蒟蒻; pinyin: jǔ ruò), also known as konjak, konjaku, devil's tongue, voodoo lily, snake palm, or elephant yam (though this name is also used for A. paeoniifolius), is a plant of the genus Amorphophallus. It is native to warm subtropical to tropical eastern Asia, from Japan and China south to Indonesia.

It is a perennial plant, growing from a large corm up to 25 cm in diameter. The single leaf is up to 1.3 m across, bipinnate, and divided into numerous leaflets. The flowers are produced on a spathe enclosed by a dark purple spadix up to 55 cm long.

Cultivation and use

Konnyaku gel

Konjac is grown in China and Japan for its large starchy corm, used to create a flour and jelly of the same name. It is also used as a vegan substitute for gelatin.

In Japanese cuisine, konnyaku appears in dishes such as oden. It is typically mottled grey, and firmer in consistency than most gelatins. It has very little taste; the common variety tastes vaguely like seaweed. It is valued more for its texture than flavor.

Japanese konnyaku jelly is made by mixing konnyaku flour with water and limewater. Hijiki is often added for the characteristic dark color and flavor. It is then boiled and cooled to solidify. Konnyaku made in noodle form is called shirataki, and used in foods such as sukiyaki and gyudon.

Konjac can also be made into a popular Asian fruit jelly snack, usually served in bite-sized plastic cups. Due to the concern in the late 1990s about the risk of small children and seniors choking on the snacks, there have been subsequent recalls in the U.S. and Canada. Unlike gelatin, konjac gel does not dissolve readily in the mouth. The snacks usually have warning labels advising parents to make sure that their children chew the jelly thoroughly before swallowing.

The dried corm of the konjac plant contains around 40% glucomannan gum. This polysaccharide makes konjac jelly highly viscous.

Konnyaku has almost no calories but is very high in fiber. Thus, it is often used as a diet food.

Konjac powder was added to the first national currency of Japan in the late 1800s, to prevent counterfeiting, but it was stopped after rats began to eat the bills.

References in Manga

• In the Japanese comic Doraemon, the main character Nobita puts Hon'yaku-Konnyaku (literally translation konjac), obtained from Doraemon's four-dimensional belly pouch, on his head to understand and speak any language.
• In the Japanese comic and TV animated series Lupin III (Lupin the 3rd), Goemon Ishikawa's sword can cut through steel girders but not konnyaku jelly.
• Konnyaku is also used for several sidejokes in Yotsuba&!. Yotsuba asks her dad what his job is, he answers "Honyakuka" (translator) and she misinterprets this as a "Konnyakuya" (maker of konnyaku). This leads other characters to believe that since he doesn't talk much about his job, he must be keeping trade secrets for making high-quality konnyaku.