What is the Secret?

Recently one of my usual customers asked me how is it possible to create products that taste so similar to meat but do not contain any animals. “What is the secret?” he questioned me. I told him that the Asian culture have become extremely creative in imitating meat using prepared wheat gluten, agar, yam flour, and soybean. Because these ingredients are very flexible materials, they can be shaped into different textures and have the ability to absorb many flavors.

Let us focus on another main ingredient, Konjac 蒟蒻/菎蒻, aside from the wonderful and healthy soybean.

Konjac is a perennial plant, growing from a large corm up to 25 cm in diameter. Konjac is grown in China, Japan and Korea for its large starchy corm, used to create a flour and jelly. Many consumers also uses konjac as a vegan substitute for gelatin. This ingredient is found in our seafood products to provide a chewy texture resembling seafood.

In 1977, American Senate nourishment committee published a report that states the shortage of fiber in eating habits is one of the reason that adult diseases (obesity, constipation, arteriosclerosis, heart sickness, diabetes, cancer, gallstone, and hemorrhoids) have gradullay increased. For example, dietary fiber activates the function of intestines and let the harmful things go quickly out of your body. As a result, it defends you from intestine cancer. Konnyaku contains much fiber in it and keep you away from such diseases.

When taken with foods, it reduces speed of sugar intake which prevent rapid blood sugar level jump. Instead, it gives graduale increment. Study not only indicates that Konnyaku lowers Choresterol level, it also cleans the digestive tract of toxins. Most recently, the food industry is paying attention to the Konnayku flour to replace conventional starch formulations since the Konnyaku is lower in calories and lower in fat without sacrificing texture and taste.

Therefore if you are interested in creating a new dish with a unique flavor, visit our store or site, www.maywahnyc.com, for our Konnyaku selections.

Recommened Konnyaku selections

C004 Vegan Codfish Balls
C005 Vegan Shrimp Balls
C010 Vegan Prawns
C012 Vegan Beef Balls
P003 Vegan Seaweed Strips

Wan.