# Konjac and Shirataki Are Riding the Fiber Wave — an Old Japanese Root Crop
Canonical URL: https://thefoodthatshapedus.com/trend-desk/konjac-shirataki-fiber-wave
Answer-first summary: Konjac (konnyaku) is processed from the corm of Amorphophallus konjac into a glucomannan gel used in Japanese and wider East Asian cooking — including shirataki noodles. The 2026 fiber and low-carb wave markets it as a noodle hack. The deeper story is an old root-crop gel food meeting modern fiber culture.
Primary topic: konjac history
Published: 2026-06-13
Updated: 2026-06-13
## Primary Image
- Name: Konjac and Shirataki Are Riding the Fiber Wave — an Old Japanese Root Crop primary image
- Image URL: https://thefoodthatshapedus.com/images/foods/trend-desk-fibermaxxing-ancient-grains.webp
- Dimensions: 1264x848
- Encoding: image/webp
- Alt text: White shirataki konjac noodles in a bowl with chopsticks, soft natural light
- Visual description: Shirataki noodles are made from konjac (konnyaku) — a glucomannan gel food with deep East Asian roots.
- Caption: Shirataki noodles are made from konjac (konnyaku) — a glucomannan gel food with deep East Asian roots.
- Visible entities: Konjac, Shirataki
- Credit: The Foods That Shaped Us Research Desk
- Image terms: https://thefoodthatshapedus.com/image-rights#terms
- Permission information: https://thefoodthatshapedus.com/image-rights#request-permission
## What's happening
Shirataki and konjac pasta keep surfacing in fibermaxxing and low-carb shopping lists in 2026, often beside psyllium and other texture-first fibers [1][2]. Packages promise noodle shape with a different calorie and fiber profile than wheat pasta. The trend language is new; the gel food is not.
## The history behind it
Konjac corms have been processed in Japan and neighboring regions into konnyaku cakes and noodles for centuries — a jelly-like food made possible by glucomannan, a water-binding fiber that sets into a springy gel [3][4]. Shirataki ("white waterfall") names the thin noodle form familiar in sukiyaki and modern packaged cups. It belongs to East Asian gel-and-root cookery, not to a Silicon Valley snack lab.
## Why it matters
The food-history value is that fiber culture keeps rediscovering old hydrocolloids. Konjac sits beside psyllium as a plant material whose physical behavior — swelling, gelling — becomes a modern metric. See the psyllium article for the parallel fiber story.
## How to try it
Rinse packaged shirataki well, dry-sauté briefly to reduce the packaged aroma, then sauce aggressively — the noodles are a texture vehicle. Do not expect wheat pasta flavor. Treat konjac as a gel food with Japanese roots, not as a miracle. For the wider fiber-plant story, read psyllium below.
## Sources & References
1. Hannah Goldfield “The Fibre Fad Keeps On Moving.” The New Yorker (2026) https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/07/06/the-fibre-fad-keeps-on-moving
2. “Food Trends for 2026, According to Experts.” Food & Wine (2025) https://www.foodandwine.com/food-trends-for-2026-from-experts-11871415
3. Alan Davidson “The Oxford Companion to Food.” Oxford University Press (2014)
4. Harold McGee “On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen.” Scribner (2004)
Related canonical pages: [Fiber and Ancient Grains: From Fibermaxxing to Millet](https://thefoodthatshapedus.com/collections/fiber-and-ancient-grains) | [Psyllium](https://thefoodthatshapedus.com/food/psyllium)