mannan hikari

A couple of posts back, Rowena asked me if we'd ever tried "rice" made from konnyaku (devil's tongue jelly) flour. We hadn't but I had heard of a diet food called "mannan hikari", a "rice" which I had heard was made of konnyaku.

Since one of the foods Satoshi is supposed to eat more of is konnyaku (it apparently has a lot of fiber), I thought we should try this, as it may be an easy way to add more konnyaku into our diet.

If I understood the Japanese correctly, the konnyaku flour has an enzyme called "mannan" in it, which helps with blood sugar too.

The packets look like rice.

Here's how to make it according to the directions on the package: Wash a cup of "real" rice and then add 1 packet of the konnyaku rice. The package cautions you NOT to wash the konnyaku rice (for some reason I have a feeling it may melt if washed). As for the amount of water, you should add 1.5 cups. Cook as you normally do.

If you want to be brave, the package also suggest you do 1 cup of rice and 2 of the konnyaku rice, but we haven't tried this version yet.

There isn't any distinct flavor, but texture-wise it is a little like instant rice, not really sticky.

For this reason, the company website suggests that you do not cook the "rice" by itself.

Dunno how this product would fare as musubi or as fried rice, though their website says that it does freeze well.

Have you ever tried this or something similar? What do you think about it?