SNACKS

Chicharrón Prensado (konjac ‘pork rind pressed’)

low carb vegan snacking

Half a 250g block of konjac
Chili (or other hot spiced) flavored extra virgin olive oil
Salt: a specialty South American salt is cool, such as Andean Pink Salt or Bolivian Rose (to taste)

Makes 1–2 servings.

There is a Latin American variation of pork rinds that are soft rather than hard and crispy, which this dish imitates with the gelatinous slivers of konjac. You can almost think of this snack food as thicker gelatinous potato chips, if you find “Chicharrón Prensado” hard to remember : ) With konjac, you can never say or write ‘gelatinous’ enough!

With a V-slicer at the smallest setting, run the thin edge of the konjac block repeatedly across it, to create a mound of rectangular slivers. Sautée at low heat in the chili flavored olive oil, flipping over occasionally.

You will see the konjac develop a nice pork rind reminiscent bubbly crunchy surface texture. And yet, it will refuse to get hard and crispy! Around the konjac slices, the oil will bubble up in interesting frothy ways as it interacts with the gelatinous substance.

When intuitively you feel you’ve sautéed the slivers long enough (about 15 minutes to my taste), place into a mixing bowl and toss with the salt to taste. Then, nibble away and lick your fingers as you do so.

This snack will satisfy a lot of the oil and salt cravings you might have with fresh made potato chips, only without the carb component. Needless to say, this is more of a weight maintenance or cheat day snack rather than a good idea for weight loss.