Konnyaku no miso oden / boiled konnyaku yam cake with sweetened miso sauce

A quick and tasty konnyaku dish, which is also a popular "street food" at community and school festivals. Sweetened miso sauce makes chewy konnyaku a favorite with kids as well as adults. Grated ginger and chopped green onion are added below for a zesty punch, preventing this rather plain dish from becoming bland without using lots of sauce. 

1/2 of recipe:
16 calories; 0.5 g protein; 0.2 g fat; 4.3 g carbohydrate; 1.6 g net carbs; 96 mg sodium; 0 mg cholesterol; 2.7 g fiber


<Ingredients>

1/2-1 konnyaku yam cake (154 g in photo)

For sweetened miso sauce
(enough for 3-4 servings, using 1/4 for each serving)
1 tsp Saikyo miso
1 tsp aka red miso
2 tsp mirin
1/2 tbsp dashi (optional; see Notes)

1/2 green onion (4 g white section in photo)
1 small knob ginger

<Directions>
1.

Mix miso and mirin well.

Cover with moistened paper towel, and microwave for 15-20 seconds in total.
Remove container every 6-7 seconds, and mix well.

It is done when mixture turns glossy and is the consistency of ketchup or mayonnaise. 

2.

Grate ginger.
Finely chop green onion.
Cut konnyaku into somewhat thick (approx. 1cm) slices, rectangles or triangles, and put on skewers.

3.

Boil konnyaku for 5+ minutes.

4.

When konnyaku is about ready, add dashi to miso mixture, cover with paper towel, and microwave for 5 seconds (until hot).

Mix in ginger and green onion.

5.

Pat off moisture on konnyaku surface with towel.

Plate, and top with miso sauce.
Serve hot. 

<Notes>

• Sweetened miso sauce is typically made by simmering in a pan. When only a small amount is needed, microwaving works great -- but be careful not to overcook it!
• Any miso works, as does any sweetener (mirin, sugar, honey, maple syrup -- whichever you like).
• Adding dashi is optional. Above, it is added mainly to increase the volume per serving (to reduce the amount of sodium per serving).
• Sodium content significantly varies by miso you use. 
• To make the miso sauce richer, add a small amount of tahini or nerigoma sesame paste.
• Instead of boiling konnyaku for several minutes, it can be blanched and fried (without oil).
• Other than ginger and green onion, yuzu citron zest (or juice) is a very common ingredient for sweetened miso. For toppings, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, ichimi/shichimi togarashi pepper and sansho leaves/powder are common.
• When miso sauce is placed on top of main ingredients (konnyaku in above case) and grilled/broiled, this becomes dengaku (see nasu no dengaku [eggplant with sweet miso sauce]).