Konjac is a monocotyledonous perennial herb of Araceae. It has an enlarged underground tuber, and the aboveground part is a single leaf with palmately parted leaves. It is a shade plant, which can blossom and bear fruit, but it mainly propagates rapidly with underground tubers and fleshy stems (taro whip).
Konjac tuber is a large storage organ. It is rich in starch, glucomannan, various amino acids, vitamins and minerals, and its glucomannan is a well-known digestible edible cellulose for human body, which can stimulate the stomach, increase intestinal peristalsis, and help to remove waste accumulated on the intestinal wall. At the same time, it also has the functions of preventing and treating constipation, gallstones and diabetes, reducing the concentration of cholesterol and blood lipid, and relieving cardiovascular diseases. The food processed with it is a kind of high-quality health food with low calorie and low fat, which has the reputation of intestinal cleaner and is called the first choice of human natural health food in 2 1 century. There is a strong consumption upsurge of konjac in the world, and konjac jelly, konjac vermicelli, konjac simulated food, konjac beverage and konjac washing products can be seen everywhere. In addition, the expansion coefficient of glucomannan can reach 100 times. Using this characteristic, scientists are studying its new uses in the field of chemistry.
There are many cultivated varieties of Amorphophallus, which are widely distributed in Liangshan Prefecture. The common ones are Amorphophallus flowers and white Amorphophallus. Amorphophallus parviflora has wide adaptability, fast growth and high yield. It is a common variety in the fields behind farmers' houses. It is reported that a single bulb reaches 20 kg, and most farmers produce and process it and sell it as konjac tofu.
White konjac is a famous local variety in our state, and its distribution area is limited to Jinyang, Leibo, Butuo and other areas along the Jinsha River. He prefers temperature to humidity, and the optimum soil pH is 6.5-7.5, and the altitude is 1200- 1800 meters. The bulb is small and the yield is low, but the taro block is white, and the glucomannan content is high. The processed refined powder is crystal clear, containing more than 65% glucomannan, which is the top grade of konjac. The taro horn processed by Jinyang white konjac is called "Jinjiang taro horn" and won the gold medal of 1995 China Agricultural Expo. The refined powder and snow konjac processed by Jinyang White Konjac have been exported to North America, Japan and Southeast Asia.
In recent years, our state has intensified the development of white konjac, and the Organization Department of the Provincial Party Committee is implementing the "Light of Hope" project to cultivate practical talents in rural areas based on the Liangshan white konjac project, which has greatly promoted the development of Liangshan white konjac industry. Now the whole state is in Jinyang. Leibo, Butuo, Meigu, Zhaojue, Ningnan, Huili, Xichang and other counties (cities) planted 46,000 mu of white konjac, mostly in pieces. In Jinyang, Leibo, Meigu, Zhaojue and Ningnan, white konjac dry chips and refined powder processing plants have been built, with an annual processing capacity of 654.38 million tons, which can provide sufficient high-quality raw materials for deep processing enterprises of white konjac.
Development of konjac tofu
1, konjac tofu paste
This kind of tofu is also called pasting, tossing or pasting taro tofu. Konjac is cleaned, peeled, and then kneaded into pulp to make taro paste.
Making taro paste is the key to making konjac tofu. Therefore, we must master two points: First, we must carefully polish. The finer the grinding, the better. Avoid coarse grains and taro chunks. The second is to replenish water in moderation. Water should be added gradually in stages. If there is too much water, it is difficult to solidify and shape: too little water has a low decay rate, which affects economic benefits. When konjac tofu is made with paste, 1 kg of fresh taro can make 6~8 kg of tofu, and the evaporation of water during cooking tofu requires 7~ 10 liter of water. When grinding, first add 1/2 of the total water added, and then add enough water after grinding. If the amount of water added during pulp grinding is too small, the pulp is easy to condense into flesh-red lumps, which are difficult to disperse and dissolve in water, blocking the grinding eyes and grinding out. Moreover, when cooking tofu, raw rubber is sandwiched in the clot, which is easy to poison people and the output of tofu is low. Therefore, when pulping, 50 grams of white alkali and 4 liters of clear water can be added to 1 kg of fresh taro, and then finely ground with a stone mill or pulverizer. If there is no white alkali, it can also be replaced by water, but the concentration of gray alkali water is different and the dosage is not easy to master.
Generally speaking, raw konjac tubers are directly ground into pulp, but in some places, konjac tubers are first sliced into filaments or cut into pieces or pieces, and cooked in a steamer or pot until they are completely cooked. When the filaments, pieces or pieces are rubbed by hand without pieces, they are taken to a stone mortar or a refiner to be processed into taro paste, and then water is added to the taro paste for processing and boiling. Tofu cooked with raw paste is less elastic than tofu cooked with shredded taro paste, and the fried taste is not as crisp and delicious as cooked and ground.
There are several ways to make taro paste: stone mortar spring mill, manual rubbing mill and mechanical mill. When the mortar is made into slurry by spring grinding, the shredded taro or taro slices are first put into the mortar, and then repeatedly ground with a mallet or a stone mallet in spring, so as to be mashed into a half-floor taro paste. After adding water from less to more, the taro paste should be mashed and stirred repeatedly to break the nodules and lumps. When adding water for the last time, add 20g of soda ash or 2 spoons of plant ash alkali to each kilogram of fresh taro, dissolve it with warm water, then pour it into a mortar and stir it evenly.
The manual grinding method is to directly grind konjac into taro paste by using a simple iron plate grinder (iron plate with length 15 ~ 20cm and width 10 ~ 15cm, with the rough back facing up and nailed to the wooden frame). In the taro paste, add 3 liters of water and 10-20g alkali to each kilogram of fresh taro, and stir evenly repeatedly. Mechanical grinding method is to shred taro and pour it into a refiner, and grind it directly into taro paste. Generally, it needs to be ground twice, and water and alkali are added in the grinding process.
The dry and thin pulp juice should be set after standing and cut into pieces with a knife. If the pulp is too dry, the tofu made is not tender, the amount is small and it is not delicious; The pulp is too thin to make tofu paste.
After grinding, pour it into a non-stick pan, and add alkaline water when it is half cooked. Add fresh konjac with alkali dosage of 65438±0kg, and add 20-50g white alkali or 5% quicklime water. After adding alkali, stir evenly. Then cook with high fire, stir while cooking, and cease fire after cooking. After the ceasefire, let it stand and coagulate until it can stand upright with chopsticks, then cut it into large pieces in the pot with a knife and cook it with water. At this time, even if it is cooked fiercely, it will not be cooked. The more it is cooked, the softer it becomes. Finally, put it in clear water and cook it thoroughly, and then eat it after removing the astringency. You can also cook tofu, take it out, soak it in cold water 1 day, and eat it after removing excess alkali.
Using pure konjac to make tofu is expensive, tough and dark gray. Some people will mix some rice flour, taro flour, bean flour, kelp powder, carrots or other condiments when making. This kind of konjac tofu is not only beautiful in color, but also tastes better. The specific preparation method is as follows: 50 grams of konjac flour, 25 grams of rice flour, or 25 grams of taro flour, or 50 grams of white Rachel juice (Chinese cabbage, celery, tomato) are mixed with cold water to make a slurry, and then slowly poured into 5 liters of boiling water, stirred while pouring, boiled for another half hour, then added with 2550 grams of soda ash or soda ash, and stirred vigorously, and the slurry turns from gray-green to white. Then simmer for 4 hours and serve.
Recently, according to the needs of consumers, some people added nutrients, pigments and spices when making konjac tofu. For example: ① adding tea leaves and konjac tofu: mixing konjac powder with water and tea juice, adding slaked lime, heating at 70℃ for 30 minutes, and then cooling. ② Flavor konjac tofu: konjac flour 150g, water 4300ml, adding seasoning, heating to 55℃~60℃, stirring for 5 5~ 10/0min, adding 4g of slaked lime, stirring and molding at 800℃ for 30min. ③ Soymilk and konjac tofu: Mix 2 parts of konjac flour and 1 part of full-fat soybean flour evenly, put them in water, stir for 15 minutes, stand for 2 hours and boil. Then, add 0.596 limewater, stir evenly and shape. (4) Konjac fermented bean curd: 1 part of refined Konjac powder, 0.5-3 parts of milk or goat milk, diluted to 30-90 times with water, and evenly stirred to obtain meat-flavored Konjac tofu: when the Konjac sol boils, coagulant is added to form gel, and minced meat of livestock and poultry is added to make meat-flavored Konjac tofu.
2. Warm paste konjac tofu
Grinding Amorphophallus konjac into pulp, adding 5% quicklime water, and cooking with low fire, keeping the temperature in the pot at 35℃ to 40℃, staying for 65,438 0 nights (about 8 hours), cooling and cutting into pieces when it solidifies and turns gray, adding clear water, and cooking with high fire, or steaming after cutting into pieces.
3. Frozen konjac tofu
Pour the konjac pulp with alkali into the pot. In the winter frosty night, release; Outside, the mud solidified into blocks after frost. Add clean water, rinse with strong fire to remove astringency and serve.
4. Use dried konjac horns or konjac slices to make konjac tofu.
Crushing taro horn or taro slices to remove some ash, and most of the rest is glucomannan. Adding 25-45 times the weight of water, fully stirring, heating, and cooking to make konjac tofu.
5. Refine taro tofu with konjac.
Put 1 serving of refined powder into 40-90 times the weight of water, stir constantly, and boil over high fire; Then, control the fire and keep it boiling. When konjac fine powder particles change from solid to liquid sol, alkaline substances such as 4%~ 10% soda (soda pot) or lime are added as coagulants to continue cooking. When the sol begins to solidify, turn off the fire and keep it for a few minutes. When the surface of the gel does not stick to your hands, cut it into pieces with a knife, add hot water or cold water, turn the gel over, cook it with high fire until the gel is elastic, and turn off the heat and take it out. When eating, cut it, put it in a boiling water pot, remove residual alkali, and then cook it further.
Step 6 make tofu with konjac flour
1 kg of konjac flour, add 0.5 kg of rice flour, 0.2 kg of taro flour, or 1 kg of white Rachel juice, mix well with cold water, then slowly pour into boiling water and mix well. When it is in a hydrophilic sol state after cooking, alkali is added according to the ratio of konjac powder to soda powder (or caustic soda) =1:0.5 ~1L. Boil the alkali with water, slowly pour it into the pot and stir quickly. At this time, the color of the sol began to turn gray-green, then it was shaken and boiled for half an hour. Press the surface of tofu by hand, and the amount of skimming is small and the tofu does not stick to the surface when it is not solidified. Add it, continue to cook until the gel is formed, and stop for half an hour. Then, add cold water, cut into large pieces with a knife, and drain. Wash the pot, add water, pour in konjac tofu, burn it fiercely, and dry it several times before serving. Generally, Sichuan dry powder can make 35~3 kilograms of tofu. Cooked konjac tofu is soaked in cold water, and the water is changed 1 time a day, 1 month, which is the most ideal natural food thickener in China at present. Konjac glucomannan solution can be aged or solidified within 65438 0 hours. The water is attached to the temperature of Sichuan, which can last for 4 Pa seconds in half an hour, and the particle size is suitable. The particles are too coarse and the dissolution rate is slow. The solidification temperature is mechanical. In addition, there is a phenomenon of yang shrinkage in the production of konjac tofu. In order to reduce this phenomenon, the target fine powder is used as raw material, or the pH value is 10.5~ 1 1.5, and the concentration is reduced.
Make konjac tofu must pay attention to the following points:
First, during the grinding, boiling, solidification and molding of taro paste, you can't touch acid and oil, and the utensils can't touch wine and stop, so as not to cause the alkalinity to be neutralized and unable to solidify, or glucomannan to be hydrolyzed and lead to failure.
Second, in the process of processing, we should try to reduce the contact time between konjac chips and air. Tubers should be soaked in clean water after peeling to reduce the degree of oxidation. After the tuber is shredded and sliced, it should be cooked quickly or soaked in 1% lime water or concentrated brine to avoid browning. At the same time, try to avoid contact with iron, copper and other appliances. Grayish white or grayish black.
Third, drinkers should not participate in the processing of konjac tofu to prevent alcohol from affecting the solidification and molding of konjac tofu.
Fourth, cook konjac tofu, and the cut pieces can be cooked only after solidification inside and outside. Things cooked from the outside will become soft and lose their elasticity when they are cold.
Fifth, the dosage of alkali should be appropriate in the processing of konjac tofu. If too little alkali is added, it will solidify. If too much alkali is added, the product will be dark in color and strong in alkali taste, which will not be easy to remove and affect the product quality.
Amorphophallus konjac is a perennial herb, the main component is glucomannan, which contains many amino acids and minerals such as calcium, zinc and copper that cannot be synthesized by human body. It is a high-quality dietary fiber with low fat, low sugar, low calorie and no cholesterol. Konjac glucomannan has the characteristics of hydrophilicity, gelation, antibacterial, edibility and low calorific value. It can be used as gel, emulsifier, thickener, stabilizer and filler. It has broad application prospects not only in food processing, but also in medicine and health care industries.
Konjac has a long history as a food raw material, and there are more and more varieties of Konjac food, mainly including Konjac vermicelli, Konjac silk knot, Konjac powder skin, Konjac tendon, Konjac plum blossom, Konjac butterfly, Konjac shrimp, Konjac tofu, Konjac noodles and so on. The consumption of konjac food in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Guangdong, Fujian and other places in China is relatively large. Consumers in Jiangsu, Beijing, Shanghai and other places have gradually improved their understanding of konjac food and its health care function, and their consumption is on the rise.
Konjac food has been recognized as "precious natural health food" by FAO. The health function of konjac food lies in the unique physical and chemical properties of glucomannan.
1. Purify blood: Konjac glucomannan can effectively inhibit the absorption of lipolytic substances such as cholesterol and bile acids in the small intestine, promote the excretion of fat, reduce the entry of fat and cholesterol into the blood, and reduce the total amount of triglycerides and cholesterol in the serum, so it can play a role in preventing hypertension, hyperlipidemia and cardiovascular diseases. According to relevant data, the human body can achieve the above effect by taking 3 grams of konjac glucomannan every day (three times) and persisting in eating for a long time.
2. Scavenger of gastrointestinal tract: A large number of studies show that the unique bundled hydrogel fiber of konjac can keep the intestine full, promote the physiological peristalsis of the intestine, soften the feces, speed up defecation, reduce the pressure of the intestine and relieve constipation.
3. The bane of intestinal cancer: the unique bundle hydrogel fiber of konjac can promote the rapid elimination of heavy metal elements and food toxic substances in the intestine, reduce the contact time between harmful substances and the intestinal wall, prevent the intestinal tract from absorbing these substances, remove the residues in the stomach, intestine and gallbladder, and effectively reduce the probability of harmful bacterial infection in the colon and rectum. It is an ideal cancer prevention and health food.
4. Good news for diabetic patients: Due to the high viscosity of konjac glucomannan, the viscosity of chyme in the digestive tract is enhanced, the retention time of chyme paste in the stomach cavity is delayed, and a protective film is formed on the intestinal wall, which effectively inhibits the rise of blood sugar value and urine sugar value. Experts at home and abroad have confirmed that konjac food is an ideal food for diabetic patients, which can reduce blood sugar, improve symptoms and control the disease.
5. The best food for healthy people: "Hymanna" in konjac makes people feel full after eating, thus reducing people's food intake and energy consumption, which is conducive to controlling people's weight and realizing natural weight loss. Healthy consumers often eat it, which can keep fit.
In order to make it easier for everyone to cook konjac dishes, Jiangsu Jingxi Hotel recently launched several konjac recipes, specially dedicated to readers.
Hydrangea, plum and shrimp balls
Ingredients: Konjac plum blossom 1 bag, shrimp150g, appropriate amount of green pepper, 200g of minced fish and appropriate amount of multicolored silk.
Seasoning: refined salt, monosodium glutamate, white pepper, soup, raw flour and essential oil.
Production: 1 Squeeze the minced fish into a circle, roll it up with colored silk, make hydrangea, steam it in a steamer and put it on the edge of the plate. 2 Pour plum blossom water, oil shrimp and green pepper into a pot with good taste, turn it over, take it out of the pot and pour it into the shortlisted hydrangea.
Features: bright color, smooth and delicious, moderate salinity.
Crispy tendon
Materials: Konjac tendon 1 bag, raw flour, custard powder, eggs.
Seasoning: salt, monosodium glutamate, cooking wine, pepper, salt and pepper, onion, ginger and essential oil.
Output: 1. Soak the tendon in water and season with salt, monosodium glutamate, cooking wine and pepper.
2. Flour the gluten and hang the cheese paste for later use.
3. Put the essential oil into the pot and put it on the fire. When the oil temperature reaches 70% heat, put the pasted plain tendon in the oil pan and fry it until it is crisp outside and tender inside.
Features: golden color, crisp outside and tender inside, crispy and delicious.
Tang Yu Jin Hua pian
Ingredients: a box of shredded konjac, 20g of mushrooms, 50g of cooked bamboo shoots, 50g of Jinhua ham, 40g of onion, and a proper amount of broth.
Seasoning: refined salt, monosodium glutamate, corn flour, white pepper and essential oil.
Output: 1. Slice mushrooms, cooked bamboo shoots and Jinhua ham.
2. Tie the chopped mushrooms, dried bamboo shoots, golden flower strips, silk and shallots together, steam them for 10 minutes, and put them on a plate.
3. Add soup, salt, monosodium glutamate, and white pepper to thicken the pan, and pour the oil on the steamed shredded taro to serve.
Features: Beautiful shape, crisp and refreshing.
Konjac roast duck:
Ingredients: fat duck, konjac, garlic sprout and Shaoxing wine.
Accessories: Sichuan salt, soy sauce, monosodium glutamate, Pixian watercress, garlic slices, wet starch, pepper, broth and lard.
Production: 1) Remove the duck head, neck, wing tips and paws, remove the big bones and cut into strips;
2) Cut the konjac into strips, blanch it twice in a boiling water pot to remove the lime smell, and then float it in warm water;
3) Put the wok on the fire, when the pork fat is heated to 70%, add the duck strips and stir-fry until it is light yellow, and take out the wok;
4) Wash the pot, add the broth to boil, take out the pepper and bean paste residue, add duck strips, konjac strips, ginger, garlic, Shaoxing wine, Sichuan salt and soy sauce and cook until the juice is thick and the duck is soft;
5) adding green garlic buds and monosodium glutamate when the konjac is tasty;
6) Finally, thicken the pan with warm starch.
Color and fragrance: red and bright, duck meat is fat and crisp, salty and spicy.