Spiced Seaweed Konnyaku with Vegetables
Print RecipeIngredients
- 1 Seaweed Flavored Yam Cake (Konnyaku)
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- dash fish sauce
- 1/2 tsp dried chipotle or 1 tsp red pepper chili flakes
- 1/4 cup Thai Almond Sauce (used Yai's Thai Almond Sauce)
- 1/2 cup pre cooked ( leftover) spaghetti squash
- 2 oz uncured chorizo
- 1 cup fresh spinach
- 1/8 cup sliced almonds
- 1/2 cup red sorrel leaves ( or fresh spinach leaves)
- Handful chervil micro greens
Instructions
First we are going to attack the Konnyaku. Get a pot of boiling water started, then open and drain the Konnyaku package in a colander over the sink. Run hot water to rinse of the Konnyaku before transferring to a cutting board and slicing in half lengthwise. Boil for 10 minutes.
Prepare the marinade while the Konnayaku is boiling, by mixing the Almond sauce, sunflower oil, fish sauce, and chipotle in a iron cast pan. After 10 minutes, drain the boiled Konnyaku and rinse with cold water so you can handle it. Transfer it back to the cutting board and slice each half into smaller 1 inch pieces, and score each side before placing it directly into the marinade.
Once all the Konnyaku has been cut and scored and is bathing in the marinade, heat the pan on medium heat and cook down for 10-15 minutes so the sauce reduces. Add the spaghetti squash, spinach, chorizo and turn frequently until all sauce is absorbed and the spinach has wilted. Turn the heat off and each portion accordingly to the serving plates topping it with red sorrel, micro greens and 1-2 tbsp sliced almonds each.
Konnyaku? Its not a piece of meat guys, hopefully the meat you buy doesn’t have a purple black hue to it… Konnyaku is a yam cake typically eaten in Japan but its speculated to have originated in Chinese medicine as a form to clean out your gut. Its easy to digest and made up primarily of fiber and water, due to the tuber roots of the yam of which it is made from. As with everything, eat this moderately as overconsumption can actually have the opposite effect from what it was intended to do. This recipe calls for the Konnyaku that is mixed with a seaweed powder, hence the dark brown and purple hue that comes off of it. It is thought to help lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and is an alkaline inducing food. You can find it at your local Asian store, pre packaged in a rectangular cake form. If its difficult to find the cake, Shirataki noodles are the same thing can you can swap those in as a replacement for the yam.
WARNING: Once you open the package, there is a smell that will hit you and you’ll question whether or not you should eat this. Fear not, its normal. To battle that, you’ll wash and par boil the yam cake before scoring it to let it marvelously soak up the flavors your adding to it. The vegetables used were some leftovers and you can substitute the spaghetti squash for shredded zucchini or cauliflower rice if your not up to cooking squash, just make sure your checking in with your personal low fodmap guidelines when adding a different vegetable. Besides the fact the Konnyaku soaks up flavors that are added to it, its also a blast to eat with its chewy and firm composure. Here its marinated in a delicious Almond sauce from Yai’s Thai and served with a bunch of cooked vegetables and flavorful Spanish chorizo. To top it all off, add sliced almonds and chervil micro greens.
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