A fun food to explore – konjac

Konjac? What is Konjac? I don’t even know how to pronounce it! Some people go for KON-yak, some go for KON-jak. I guess probably both are correct as it’s not a common thing or food in our lives.

So, what on earth is Konjac?

Konjac is a root plant mainly found in China and Japan. It belongs to a plant family called Amorphopha IIus Blume, which has been recorded in the book ‘Compendium of Materia Medica’.

It even has a mysterious name called 魔芋 (devil’s yam). It normally looks like this: a big bulb with a signature horn.

A friendly reminder: never attempt to eat konjac raw. Raw konjac is poisonous. I guess this won’t be a problem though for us in Australia, as raw konjac can only be accessed in certain part of mountainous areas in China.

Konjac becomes edible as a result of the manufacturing processes: grinding, boiling and bleaching. To make a ready-to-eat Konjac product, a large amount of filtered water is added to the Konjac powder until a jelly-like texture is formed.

*From its original look to after it is processed. It looks completely different, doesn’t it?*

Growing up in China, I ate Konjac from time to time during my childhood. It’s processed in all sorts of different ways, for instance, in a kid friendly form like this jelly below. Chinese people can always find some interesting ways to eat weird foods.

*Konjac could be processed into fruit flavoured jelly cups which are very popular in Asian. In Australia, I have not seen anything like it except for in Asian groceries.*

Typically, Australian food companies tend to market it as a weight loss product and process the konjac jelly into different shapes e.g. noodles, spaghetti and rice shape etc.

If you pay attention to the health aisles when you go shopping next time, you may be able to see them in different shapes. It is not because they are all different; on the contrary, they are exactly the same.

Let’s take a look at this konjac product marketed as a weight loss product – Slendier Calorie Clever Spaghetti.

Nutrition 10/10

The most attractive thing about Slendier Calorie Clever Spaghetti is that it doesn’t contain any carbohydrates. Since the popularity of keto diet has not faded, “no carbs” is still going to be the hot keyword for weight loss industry for a while. Slendier Calorie Clever Spaghetti has almost no calories either. This is a great news for those who are into calorie counting. Besides, konjac is also rich in glucomannan – a type of dietary fibre.

Ingredients 10/10

Purified water, konjac flour (5%)

It is a very simple and clear ingredient list without any nasty ingredients. Well done!

Taste and texture

Remember what jelly tastes like, Slendier Calorie Clever Spaghetti has a similar texture, but more chewy. It doesn’t have any taste, just like vermicelli. Actually, they even look similar to each other!

Pros

Almost calorie and carbohydrate free
- Type 2 Diabetes friendly*
- Weight management
Almost saturated fat free
- Cholesterol friendly
Sodium free
- Blood pressure friendly
Good amount of soluble fibre
Convenient to prepare

*people with Type 2 Diabetes on insulin and/or certain medications need to consult their dietitian when significantly reducing their carbohydrate intake by using this product.

Cons

A bit expensive
You may still feel hungry if used to completely replace all other carbohydrate sources

How to eat and prepare it

The best way to consume konjac is to eat as part of healthy meal. Simply add it into your staple food instead of completely replacing them: for example, if you have a plate of pasta or a bowl of noodles or vermicelli, replace half of them with konjac noodles. The reason for that is if you completely replace all of your carbohydrate sources with Konjac noodles, you will find yourself getting hungry very quickly and end up having more of empty calorie snacks like cakes, muffins etc to stop the hunger.

Simply take konjac out of the package, drain all of the water, rinse, and soak it hot water for 1-2 mins. After that, it is basically cooked. Simply add it to the pasta, noodles, vermicelli dish etc.

Availability

According to their website, this product is currently available in Coles, Woolworths, IGA and Foodworks.

My verdict

Slendier Calorie Clever Spaghetti is great to have as part of a well-balanced meal. In general, a well-balanced meal contains good amount of lean protein, lots of vegetable and low-moderate amount of good quality carbs. Therefore, I recommend replacing half of your noodles or pasta with Konjac noodles in order to halve your carbohydrates whilst also avoiding quickly feeling hungry again.

Data collected in May 2020