Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2010

Photo by Rebecca Milner

Spent all winter plumping your skin (and your waistline) on collagen-rich stews? Fortunately, there’s a fad food for losing weight as well. Kanten (agar) has been garnering considerable media attention for its purported slimming powers. Simple in theory, the so-called Kanten Diet regimen involves eating the red algae-derived product with meals or as a snack. Virtually calorie-free yet surprisingly filling, this high-fiber food works to make you feel fuller and thus eat less.

“It’s actually a traditional food,” says Tokyo-based cooking coach Mickey Horiike. “Japanese people have been eating it for ages.” The word kanten literally means “cold sky,” a reference to the centuries-old process of drying the trays of congealing agar in the sun on snow-covered rice fields. It can be eaten fresh (in a preparation known as tokoroten), though more often than not it’s freeze-dried and packaged.

The resulting powder or flakes can be reconstituted with water and flavored with just about anything to create a jelly. Horiike’s favorite is yuzu, which she makes by boiling 2g of kanten powder in 500cc of water and adding a few spoonfuls of yuzu citrus jam. When transferred to a shallow container, the mixture sets in about 30 minutes. “The beauty of it is, unlike gelatin, it sets at room temperature,” she says. “And of course, it’s totally healthy.”

To learn more kanten and Japanese recipes, contact Horiike at mickeycooks@aol.com

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