Qiaojia Konjac

Qiaojia Konjac

　　Konjac (English name: Konjac; in ancient China it was called "Juru," a name still used in Japan today) is a perennial herbaceous plant. Its underground tuber is flat and spherical, large in size, with thick, cylindrical, pale green petioles that have dark purple spots. It has palmate compound leaves and grows under sparse forests. It has multiple functions such as detoxifying, beautifying the skin, improving blood circulation, lowering blood pressure, aiding weight loss, and stimulating appetite.

The main component of konjac, glucomannan, can serve as dietary fiber and is rich in various amino acids and trace elements. Regular consumption offers many health benefits:

(1) Cleanses the intestines and stomach, aids digestion, and helps prevent digestive system diseases.

(2) Lowers cholesterol and helps prevent hypertension.

(3) Helps prevent obesity and prolongs life.

(4) Has positive effects on the prevention and treatment of diabetes.

Konjac is an alkaline food that is beneficial to health. For those who consume too much acidic animal-based food, pairing it with konjac can help balance the body’s acid-base levels, which is advantageous to health. The diverse range of konjac foods certainly holds broad prospects.

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Konjac is a general term for plants in the genus Amorphophallus of the Araceae family, also known as mo yu, gui yu, gui tou, hua lian gan, she liu gu, etc. It is mainly distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Eastern Hemisphere, with China being one of its places of origin. It is found in mountainous areas across Sichuan, Hubei, Yunnan, Guizhou, Shaanxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Taiwan provinces. There are many types of konjac; statistics show over 260 varieties worldwide, with 19 recorded in China, eight of which are endemic to the country.

Currently, China and Japan are the world's two largest producers of konjac, with several Southeast Asian countries cultivating it in smaller amounts. Although Japan’s konjac originated from China, since the 1960s, the Japanese government has provided strong support for scientific research and industrial development related to konjac. As a result, Japan is now the country with the highest level of konjac research and utilization internationally, and konjac has become one of its emerging industries. In recent years, southern Chinese provinces have also vigorously developed konjac cultivation, producing approximately 700 tons of konjac flour (mainly containing konjac polysaccharides) annually, with Sichuan Province accounting for over 50% of the output. Konjac yields between 5,000 to 10,000 jin per mu, and over the 15 years from 1984 to 1999, prices fluctuated between 0.3 and 1.2 yuan. Even calculated at the lowest yield and minimum price, the income per mu is still 1,500 yuan.

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The underground tuber of konjac is flat and round, resembling a large water chestnut, with a diameter of up to 25 centimeters or more. It is highly nutritious, containing 35% starch, 3% protein, as well as various vitamins and mineral elements such as potassium, phosphorus, and selenium. It also contains glucomannan — the konjac polysaccharide needed by humans — at over 45%, and features low calories, low fat, and high fiber content. The konjac tuber can be processed into konjac powder for consumption, and made into various foods such as konjac tofu, konjac noodles, konjac bread, konjac meat slices, and juice-flavored konjac threads. Konjac foods are not only delicious and pleasant in texture but also offer benefits such as weight loss, fitness, disease prevention, and anti-cancer properties. As a result, they have gained global popularity in recent years and have been hailed as “magic food,” “miracle food,” and “health food.” However, all parts of the konjac plant are toxic, especially the tuber. Poisoning symptoms include a burning, itchy, painful, and swollen sensation in the tongue and throat. Folk remedies recommend drinking vinegar mixed with a little ginger juice or using it as a mouthwash to counteract the poison. Therefore, konjac must undergo processes such as grinding, steaming, and rinsing to remove toxins before consumption.

China began cultivating konjac over 2,000 years ago and has a long history of consumption. In the famous work “Ode to the Capital of Shu” by Zuo Si, a great literary figure of the Western Jin Dynasty — a book so popular it reportedly made paper scarce in Luoyang — there is a record stating: “Boiled with ash water, it turns into jelly; soaked in bitter wine, it is treasured by the people of Shu.” Legend has it that long ago, Taoist priests from Mount Emei in Sichuan produced snow konjac tofu from konjac tuber starch. It was brownish-yellow in color, sponge-like in appearance, delicious in taste, and quite unique, making it a delicacy of Mount Emei. Later, konjac spread from China to Japan, where it became highly favored, eaten by nearly every household at almost every meal. Even today, it remains one of the most beloved traditional foods in Japan, and Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has explicitly mandated that konjac foods be included in school lunches. Currently, Japan is the world’s largest consumer of konjac foods, and the United Nations World Health Organization has also designated konjac as one of the top ten health foods.