Konjac Braised Dish — 1-Minute Blanching and How to Make a Low-Calorie Side Dish

Wondering what to make when you're on a diet but want another side dish without the calorie load? In the clinic, I often hear, "I quit late-night snacks, but calories seem to be adding up from the side dishes." That's when I frequently recommend konjac braised dish. It's lightly salty and simmered, great as a rice side, and light enough to put in a lunchbox.

Why konjac braised dish stands out as a diet side

Konjac braised dish is a low-calorie staple made by briefly blanching konjac in vinegar water to remove the odor, then simmering it with soy sauce, sweeteners, and aromatic seasonings. Konjac itself is very low in calories at about 7–10 kcal per 100g. This is also what food nutrition databases show, and it's far lower than tofu or fish cake of the same weight. So as long as you don't make the seasoning too sweet or too salty, it works well as a diet side.

The main component of konjac is glucomannan, a soluble dietary fiber. It helps promote satiety and slows blood sugar rise, which is why it's often used in diabetic diets and weight management plans. That's why I recommend konjac sides to people who say, "I cut back on rice but get hungry right away."

Eliminating konjac's unique odor with 1-minute blanching

Many people are surprised when they first handle konjac because of a slight fishy smell. Once you handle this part, the cooking difficulty drops significantly. The method is simple. Rinse once under running water, then slice to about 0.4–0.5 cm thickness. Make a small slit in the center and twist into a coil shape so the seasoning absorbs better and the texture becomes chewier. Twisting like braided rope also looks nice, making it great for lunchboxes.

Next, add 1–2 tablespoons of vinegar to boiling water and blanch the konjac for about 1 minute to remove the fishy smell. No need to blanch longer—1 minute is enough. If you're not sensitive to the smell, you can skip blanching, but there's a reason most recipes recommend this step. Blanching once ensures the seasoning coats cleanly and konjac's characteristic aroma won't bother you until the dish is finished.

Basic soy sauce konjac braised recipe

Let me lay this out for 2–3 servings. For konjac, 1 piece is 300–500g, and the braising sauce starts with 200–250ml water and 3–6 tablespoons soy sauce as a base. Adjust soy sauce to your salt preference. For sweetness, 1–3 tablespoons of sweeteners like oligosyrup, rice syrup, orjocheong (corn syrup) works well. Add 0.5–1 tablespoon of minced garlic. Feel free to add 1–2 tablespoons of cooking sake, kombu or anchovy broth, sesame seeds, sesame oil, chives, or cheongyang red pepper to taste.

The cooking process isn't difficult either. Put the blanched konjac in a pan, pour in the braising sauce, and simmer on medium heat. When the liquid reduces to about half, add the sweetener for shine, then finish with sesame oil and sesame seeds. Make a generous batch at once and it lasts 3–4 days in one side dish container. Beyond being a rice side, it has wide uses as a filling for gimbap or a bibimbap topping.

Combining with konjac rice lowers meal calories significantly

While konjac braised dish alone is good, if you want to lower the calories of an entire meal, I recommend eating it with konjac rice. A regular serving of white rice (1 bowl) is about 200g and known to be around 340 kcal, but mixing rice and konjac rice in a 1:1 ratio reportedly drops calories to nearly half. Commercial oat or brown rice konjac rice is 75 kcal per 110g pack, far lower than the same amount of regular rice.

Some people feel the texture is unfamiliar when starting with 1:1 right away. In that case, start with konjac rice at about 20% and gradually increase the ratio. Begin with rice 2 : konjac rice 1, then move to 1:1 once you get used to it. With one bowl of konjac rice and one serving of konjac braised dish, you'll have a dining table that reduces carbohydrate and calorie load while maintaining fullness.

In Eastern medicine, dieting is not viewed merely as a calorie-reduction exercise. If someone with weak spleen-stomach function suddenly increases their intake of cold and rough foods, they are likely to experience abdominal bloating, loose stools, and consequently, weight-loss plateaus. Konjac has a cooling nature, so those who tend to have a cold abdomen and diarrhea should start with small quantities taken together with warm broth or rice, rather than large amounts at once.

Conversely, it suits those who have excessive internal heat, a tendency toward constipation, and a poor appetite. The satiety provided by glucomannan helps curb late-night snack cravings, and this naturally leads to the habit of using less salt and sugar in seasoning. In the consultation room, after examining each patient's body type and gastrointestinal condition, we work together to determine how often and in what form to incorporate konjac.

Practical tips you can apply to your dinner table right away

Don't overthink it—just keep three things in mind. Always start by blanching konjac in vinegar water for 1 minute to remove the odor. Keep the sugar in the braising sauce to a minimum, within 1–3 tablespoons. The stronger the sweetness, the more the original purpose of this being a diet side dish fades. When making konjac braised dish, prepare a generous batch of 1 module (300–500 g) at a time and pair it with konjac rice or multigrain rice.

If the saltiness feels heavy, reduce the soy sauce to around 3 tablespoons and add approximately 200 ml of kombu broth to fill in the savory depth. If you prefer a spicy variation, add green chili peppers; for a lunchbox, pile on plenty of sesame seeds and chives to keep both the appearance and flavor intact.

Simply reworking everyday side dishes like konjac braised dish can sufficiently reduce calories per meal. However, there are certainly patients whose weight shows little movement despite dietary changes, or whose particular body type does not respond well to cold ingredients like konjac. In such cases, it is more effective to look into the spleen-stomach condition and body type together, rather than focusing solely on the diet. If you are curious about Eastern medicine approaches to diet alongside dietary management, we recommend exploring a personalized direction through a consultation for Baekrok Gambi-jung at Baekrokdam Korean Medicine Clinic.