Konnyaku, Volume 1

I received a package today all the way from Japan thanks to the kind offer of a fellow blogger.

Inside a box much distressed by the United States Postal Service, I found this treasure trove:

Konnyaku

Also known as konjak, konjaku, konnyaku potato, devil’s tongue, voodoo lily, snake palm, or elephant yam, [konnyaku] is a plant . . . native to warm subtropical to tropical eastern Asia, from Japan and China south to Indonesia. . . .

The food made from the corm of this plant is widely known in English by its Japanese name, konnyaku (yam cake), being cooked and consumed primarily in Japan. The two basic types of cake are white and black. Pushing the cake through a grid of sharp blades at the end of a wooden box gives noodles, called Shirataki, which are also sold in white and black colors.

So, it appears that I’ve got a variety of all kinds; sadly, one of the noodle packages burst in transit.

I look forward to this new culinary experience, which I’ll be sure to blog about.

If you’ve had any experience cooking with konnyaku / shirataki, please let me know your favorite cheap & easy recipe. Truth is, I don’t rightly know what all is here, although I can make a good guess.