Kanpyo dried gourd strips

Among the numerous dried ingredients in Japanese cooking, kanpyo is probably the most overlooked, as it is a distant memory for many people. It is something the majority of Japanese have eaten at some point -- it is often found in futomakizushi (“fat” rolled sushi) -- but many people have never paid attention to it as an uncooked ingredient or never cooked it themselves. For me this is an ingredient always found in my grandmother’s kitchen, way back in my childhood. (My grandmother would be 110 years old if she were still alive.) My mom cooked kanpyo too, but only for special occasions, such as holidays and our school events.

Kanpyo is shaved yugao calabash gourd that is dried under the sun in summer. Like other sun-dried food, kanpyo is rich in nutrition, especially fiber (30.1 g; 5.3 g boiled), potassium (1800 mg; 100 mg boiled), calcium (250 mg; 34 mg boiled), iron (2.9 mg; 0.3 mg boiled), and zinc (1.8 mg; 0.2 mg boiled). The non-soluble fiber content (23.3 g; 3.4 g boiled) is beneficial for your intestines and lowers cholesterol, while potassium helps to get rid of sodium from your body. For these health benefits, kanpyo has recently been attracting attention as a health food and is recommended especially to those who want to control their weight and those with high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Kanpyo (dry): 268 kcal/100 g; 19.8% water, 7.1% protein, 0.2% fat, 67.9% carbohydrate, 5.0% ash
Kanpyo (boiled): 21 kcal/100 g; 91.6% water, 0.8% protein, 0% fat, 7.2% carbohydrate, 0.4% ash

Recipes with kanpyo

• Okara kinchaku-ni / soybean pulp in thin deep-fried tofu packets