Food Forum
Vol. 33 No. 2  July 2019

TASTY TRAVEL

Gunma Konnyaku


Various forms of konnyaku
Hakata

Gunma Prefecture is Japan’s largest producer of the konjac plant, whose starchy, edible yam is processed with calcium hydroxide to make konnyaku or konjac, a translucent, gelatinous food. Its consistency is somewhat like jelly, but firm and “bouncy.” Konnyaku is composed mainly of water, has nearly zero calories, yet is filling and fiber-rich; with almost no flavor of its own, it takes on the flavors of whatever it’s cooked with, while adding texture. Konnyaku is served in various forms depending on the dish: triangular konnyaku wedges appear in oden; konnyaku slices are boiled and glazed with miso in miso dengaku; and the traditional way of serving delicious konnyaku shirataki noodles is in sukiyaki.