Japanese Konjac Jelly with Fruits (Vegan) (GF)

Delicious, low-calorie and high in fiber, traditional Japanese konjac jelly with fruits is almost the perfect gluten-free, vegan dessert for those on a diet. It's extra refreshing in the summer! (GF) (Vegan)

Jump to:

• Why Make This
• What is Konjac Jelly
• Health Benefits
• Ingredients
• Storage
• Troubleshooting
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Other Jelly Recipes
• Japanese Konjac Jelly with Fruits (Vegan) (GF)
• 💬 Comments

Why Make This

1. It's a healthy dessert snack: because of the fruits, we don't need to add sugar. If you really, really want more sweetness, add coconut water to the powder instead which is naturally sweet. This has been eaten by the Japanese since the sixth century- it is a great alternative to sugary snacks!
2. Versatile: For variety, switch up the fruits: you can even use your leftover Japanese plums from making ume-shu, yuja-cheong, maesil-cheong, or tangerine cheong. (By not adding the fruits into the jelly, you extend the time it can be kept.)
3. A quick dessert that's perfect for summer: Konjac jelly is 1 of my favourite zero sugar desserts because it's delicious, cooling and also quite good for one's diet (if you don't add too much sugar, it has low calories.)

Note: For other konjac jelly recipes, visit Chinese sour plum jellies, yuzu konnyaku jelly, osmanthus konnyaku jelly with goji berries and champange lychee jelly. They're great desserts to serve with sashimi and sushi!

What is Konjac Jelly

Also known as konnyaku jelly, konjac jelly is a Japanese jelly that has been part of the cuisine for many years.

Because it is high-fibre, low-calorie, and vegan, it's traditionally incorporated into the diet when someone is trying to lose weight.

In fact, it can even be used to replace fat in meat and dairy products! When introduced to various parts of Asia in the 80s and 90s, this sweet dessert was an instant hit and there were many cooking classes devoted to making this jelly snack.

Fun fact: it is made from the konjac bulb but not all konjac bulbs can solidify into jelly! Other names include Amorphophallus, konnyaku konjaku, devil’s tongue (Nice!), snake palm, elephant yam and voodoo lily.

IMPORTANT: Konjac jelly has a very chewy texture so it doesn't dissolve in the mouth- it can absorb up to 200x its weight in water! Because of this, konnyaku jelly can bea harmful choking hazard and has been banned in countries such as Australia in recent years. (Kids have choked to death on it before.) So be very careful when eating konjac jelly or sipping on konjac jelly drinks. Chew a lot and don't serve it to the young and old!

Health Benefits

Konjac jelly is good for your health in various ways:

• Improves the immune system
• Full of dietary fiber and good for the digestive system/ bowel movements
• Promotes weight loss and effective against obesity
• Reduces blood cholesterol
• According to Japan External Trade Organization, it is also good for healthy skin (Hence all the dietary supplement products such as drinkable konjac jelly with vitamin C etc- many of these products are loaded with sugar, so be careful!)

Note the above info is from ScienceDirect and not meant as nutritional, dietary or health advice. MedicalNewsToday has an even longer list of konjac's health properties so click the link if you're interested.

Note that some people have reported intestinal blockages so remember to check with your doctor before making changes to your diet.

Ingredients

You only need a few simple ingredients for this jelly recipe:

• the jelly: You can get it in 2 forms. One is ready to eat jelly. This is either sweetened, and packaged in small bite-sized servings (often with artificial chemicals, preservatives and a ton of sugar) OR unsweetened and tasteless. The former is a sweet treat and the latter used in savoury dishes such as miso dengaku (I have to be honest and say that such dishes may be a bit of an acquired taste if you're not used to Japanese food.) What we want is the jelly powder, which we'll add to the boiling water to turn into a dessert. Some packets have sugar included and others don't. I am using konnyaku powder with no sugar added for this recipe. (If you decide you want to add sugar, add the sugar to the powder and mix well BEFORE adding it to the water as the powder will clump like crazy after getting wet.) See below for konnyaku powder alternatives.
• Water: The amount you need depends on how much konnyaku powder you use. Check the back of your packet for the amount required.
• Fruits of choice: I like to use whatever is in season
• Mint leaf: optional garnish. I get mine from my Click & Grow indoor planter!

Note: if you want actual konjac fruit jellies- where the jelly tastes of fruit- you can popular flavors such as peach flavor to the jelly before it sets.

Likewise, the color of the jelly is naturally a translucent grey, but you can add coloring if you want it to be a different color.

Substitutes

Other gelling agents you can use are:

• gelatine (not vegan): The texture of konnyaku jelly is much firmer than gelatine- it does not wobble! Also, gelatine-jellies need refrigerating to set.
• Agar agar (made from seaweed so also vegan/ 100% plant based): konjac jelly is springier, with a bouncy texture, and more difficult to cut through. (For more info on agar agar, click this link and this one to see what can be used instead of agar agar.) Another thing to note is that agar agar and konjac can set at room temperature in the tropics (where it's like 30C/ 86F), although it's best to leave them in the fridge to set! This makes it very handy when you want to create fun jellies such as this easy koi fish dessert.

Storage

The konnyaku powder can be kept in an airtight container, at room temperature, in a cool, dark place (away from direct sunlight.)

Once made into Konjac Fruit Jelly, do not freeze as the texture will change! Store the jelly in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Troubleshooting

The common issues people have with the powder include:

• clumping: lumps form very quickly on contact with water so it's best to whisk the powder with sugar first (if using.) Add the konnyaku powder- sugar mixture slowly to the liquid and whisk furiously at the same time when making Japanese fruit jelly
• liquifying: click here for reasons why konjac jelly liquifies
• reading the packet wrongly and adding too much/ little water/sugar: click here for troubleshooting help
• We need konnyaku powder to make jellies, as konjac powder in some countries will need an alkali to solifidy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Jelly Recipes

Enjoyed this easy Konjac Jelly Recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below! If you REALLY liked this summer dessert, please consider supporting it by buying me a packet of konjac powder ! 🙂 (No obligation though!) Thank you and have a great day!

If you have questions about how to use konjac jelly, let me know in the comments!