Used to make all types of jellies, puddings, and custards, Kanten (寒天) or Kanten Jelly is a natural white gelatin obtained from algae. If you are vegetarian or vegan, this easy homemade agar recipe is a great alternative for you.
What is Kanten?
I have written detailed explanation about it here on Kanten page, so please hop over to learn more about kanten!
Simple Kanten Jelly Recipe
Here’s how to make simple kanten jelly, which used in my Anmitsu recipe. This kanten jelly is not as sweet because Anmitsu is served with syrup.
If you’re looking for dessert recipes using kanten, please check my other kanten recipes.
If you are using kanten stick, you will need to rinse it carefully and break it into pieces to soak them in water for 30 minutes. This will help dissolve kanten faster. Squeeze the water out from the pieces and they are ready to use.
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How To Make Kanten Jelly
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tsp kanten (agar) powder (see Notes)
- 2 cups water
- 2 Tbsp sugar (or more, to taste)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. You will need an 8- x 8-inch (20- x 20-cm) baking dish, which is a perfect size to cut kanten jelly into nice cubes.
- Add 2 cups water and 2 tsp kanten (agar) powder in a small saucepan.
- Whisk the mixture together and bring it to a hard boil on medium-high heat, being careful not to let the liquid boil over.
- After the mixture has boiled and the kanten powder is dissolved, add 2 Tbsp sugar and cook on low heat for 2 minutes. Tip: If you add sugar before boiling, the kanten powder may not dissolve.
- Remove the saucepan from the stove and pour the mixture into an 8- x 8-inch (20 x 20-cm) baking dish. Allow it to cool and let the kanten set in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
- Cut into ½-inch (1.5-cm) cubes. Kanten Jelly is ready to serve.
To Store
- Keep the jelly in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Kanten powder = 1 tsp (2 g)
- Kanten stick = ½ stick (4 g)
- Kanten thread = 12 threads (4 g)
Hi, thank you for the great video! I have tried to make agar agar jelly before as I love the cubed jelly you get at Chinese Yum Cha. I bought two sachets of powder and followed the directions exactly both times but each time I ended up with a strange texture. It set very hard and biting it, it was nothing like the jelly at Yum Cha, it was hard, grainy, wet and almost crunchy at the same time. Very hard to explain and very unpleasant to eat. the method was exactly as yours and I have ruled out errors in preparation so I must assume it was my powder. I’m not going to buy that brand again! But I’m scared to buy agar agar at all after that experience… I have searched online but no one else describes the problems I encountered.
Hi Karen! Do you mean Almond Tofu from Dim Sum (I like them too!)? I’m not sure which agar agar powder you used, but I haven’t had any problem with my brand before (https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry/agar-agar-kanten/). Hardness however depends on the ratio. You can make it softer by adding more liquid. Depends on the kind of dessert, we need to change the amount. This recipe is for typical “kanten” that we put in Anmitsu dessert (https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/anmitsu/) and it’s not soft as almond tofu.
My friend has almond tofu recipe and you might want to check it out. 🙂
http://www.chinasichuanfood.com/chinese-almond-tofualmond-jelly/
Hope that helps!
Hi, what about 1 strips of kanten, it equals to how many grams of kanten powder? Tq
Hi Revati! So sorry for my late response. 1 stick of kanten is same as 2 tsp. (4 g) agar powder (powdered kanten). 🙂
But how to make kanten?
Hi Vijay! Kanten is translated to Agar (agar)… so it’s treated as the same thing (although in Japan, agar and kanten are treated slightly different…). Please follow this recipe. 🙂
Very good n simple, I use this for reunion dinner dessert.
Hi Doris! I hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
I added anko to the recipe to make Mizuyokan. It tastes good but it sticks to the pan and makes it hard to cut.
Hi AhMike! Maybe use a parchment paper? Do you think it’ll work? I’ve never tried that, but sounds delicious!!
Hi AhMike & Nami! I found this recipe for mizu yokan that shows a special type of pan to use for it. Is there a special name for this pan? This would be a great solution to the problem of sticking to the pan — it almost looks like it was designed just for agar jelly! I looked up a bunch of different search terms but couldn’t find anything like this online, so I thought maybe there’s a special name for it?
Here is the link (the pictures of the pan are towards the bottom): http://blog.umamimart.com/2011/08/japanify-kuzu-matcha-kanten-with-mizu-yokan/
I also had trouble getting the jelly out of the pyrex dish I put it in. However, this only happened when I added juice to the recipe. The plain agar recipe Nami listed above comes out of the pan without any problem (it only sometimes stuck around the edges).
Another option could be to heat up some water in the sink so it comes up above the line of jelly in the pan and then sit the pan in it for a little while to melt just the small layer at the edges of the pan. However, I do think this square pan would be a better option, if it can be found.
Thanks so much for your information, Oleander! Yeah that’s a good idea. Also warming up at the bottom of the pan will help too. 🙂
Update: I managed to find the pan on some Japanese sites, including the Amazon site for Japan: http://tinyurl.com/kantenpan — However, I couldn’t find it available on any sites where people in the U.S. could buy it. Perhaps you will have more luck, Nami?
Hi Oleander! It’s called “Nagashikan (流し缶)”. I looked around on the internet but I don’t see any source where you can find it in the US… 🙁 So sorry! Maybe a small Japanese kitchen store might sells those. There is one Japanese hardware store called Soko Hardware in SF and maybe they might sell it… They have kitchen stuff. Call and see if they have it? They might ship? I’m not sure… (415) 931-5510. Hope this helps!
You had said sometimes the agar doesn’t set because of sour things being added, like citrus. If I want want to make lemon flavor agar, then when should I add the lemon juice to make sure it sets properly? Should I put the lemon juice in right at the end, before pouring the agar into a dish to set? Or would it be better to use lemon zest, that way the sourness doesn’t mix in as much?
Thank you so much for posting this, and all your recipes and how-to articles! I’m so happy to have such wonderful guidance making delicious Japanese foods! 🙂
Hi Oleander! Yes, sour fruits (or I should just say citrus, but pineapple too…) are tricky. The agar agar may lose the ability to solidify. However, I heard that if you heat up the juice and fruits before mixing with agar, it will help (but I haven’t tried that before). Canned fruit is supposed to be okay as long as you don’t mix with hot agar mixture. Hope this helps.
Thank you very much for reading my blog! I’m so happy to hear you like my recipes. 🙂
Hi, Nami! Thank you for your reply! 🙂
I decided to try making it the way you had it in the recipe first — just to make sure I could get the agar to work for me. It worked very well and I made delicious anmitsu with it. I even made a dark sugar syrup for it — which was very addictive! 🙂
Afterwards, I tried a very different recipe that used agar (vegan scrambled “eggs”), but it didn’t turn out well — I think one of the other ingredients kept the agar from setting properly. I tried that recipe twice but it didn’t work either time, so I moved on and tried another experiment. I made agar jelly with cherry juice instead of water, but I diluted the juice with water just a little because it was tart (I also added sugar). I made empty dark chocolate cups (kind of like Reese’s cups), then let the chocolate cool, then poured the liquid cherry agar mixture into the cups. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but after a few minutes in the fridge, they firmed up! I then put some more chocolate on the tops to make them into proper cups. There is a snack here in the U.S. that is chocolate covered jelly — they sell them as ‘rings’ (small donut shape) or as bars, and you can often find them for sale at gas stations. What I had made turned out tasting like a much more fresh version of those. Very delicious!
Thank you so much for teaching me about agar jelly! I had purchased a pouch of it so long ago but was apprehensive about using it, because I had never used it before and was afraid I wouldn’t be able to make it right. Your post helped me to feel more confident working with it, and now I have delicious treats! I can’t wait to experiment with it more! Thank you so much for your help! I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge! 😀
Hi Oleander! That is SO COOL! Thank you so much for sharing your fun jelly/chocolate dessert recipe journey! I had fun reading and was so nervous reading what was going to happen! I’m so happy to hear it worked out at the end! I could imagine your happy face after this dessert came out well!!! 😉 Now I’m curious what candy you’re talking about. I am not a candy person and I obviously have never tried this donut one. I only know the sour donut one with yellow and pink color. 🙂 I’ll think of you when I find the candy at the gas station!!! Thank you again!
It was a very happy face — especially after trying one of the candies!! They were much, much more fresh than the store-bought kind! 😀
You know, I just had the thought that maybe these jelly candies might not be as popular in other areas of the U.S. so just in case, I wanted to share some pictures I found online of the candies:
Here’s a picture of the jelly bars, also showing what they look like when broken open: http://cocoa-heaven.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/joyva-jelle-joys.jpg
Here’s a picture of the jelly ‘rings’, also showing the box: http://www.epicurecandyco.com/gallerylarge/7vax/Joyva_Ring_Jells_5lb_box.jpg
I grew up in a small town in NY, and many stores in the area would have a big box of the jelly ‘rings’ out (usually right by the cash register) and you could pick out a few and buy them one at a time instead of buying a huge box. It was a nice, small sweet to have on the go, instead of buying a huge candy bar. 🙂
Thank you again for teaching me about this awesome ingredient! I can’t wait to try more delicious food experiments with it!! 😀
Hi Oleander! I had never seen these kinds. Thanks for showing me the package. That’s true, I wouldn’t have known by looking at the package at the gas station. I’m not much of a candy person, so even though I’m in the US for some time I really don’t know the name of candies… I know ones that we have in Japan, like snickers and M&M’s… but there are so many candies here I haven’t even tasted them. 🙂 I’m so glad you enjoyed making the candies. 🙂
Hi can u pls share with me your cherry agar jelly recipe want to try making for my toddler with strawberries
Sure!
Here are the brands and names of the ingredients I used: Domino brand certified organic sugar, R.W. Knudsen organic just tart cherry juice, and Now brand agar powder.
The cherry juice I used was just water and cherry juice concentrate. I know it works with juice like this, but I don’t know how it will work with a juice that has colors/flavors/preservatives or corn syrup added, as that changes the makeup of the recipe. You can try it with juice that has additives if you don’t mind that, but just be aware that it may turn out differently. Also, pay attention to the amount of sugar you add if the juice is already sweet — the juice I used was only juice and water so it wasn’t that sweet.
For the cherry juice and the agar, I used the amounts listed in Nami’s recipe for the kanten — substituting the cherry juice for the water. For the sugar, I added the amount Nami had listed in her recipe, and then added more to taste. I don’t remember how much more I added, but it’s very easy to adjust. Again, if your juice is already sweet, you may not need to add any additional sugar. If you do feel it necessary, add a teaspoon or tablespoon at a time, whisk it in, then taste the mixture to see if it has the desired sweetness. Don’t add too much at a time without whisking it in (this is just a personal tip based on my own experience). Make sure to keep track of how much sugar you added, for next time you make the recipe.
I haven’t tried adding fruit to kanten jelly before, so I can’t say how that will turn out, but it sounds like a delicious idea! If you’re interested in making something really pretty, you can make a batch of cherry jelly first, put it in a glass pan to cool and then after it cools, put the strawberries on top, make a batch of plain kanten and pour it on top, so you have several layers. It will look like the strawberries are sitting under glass. I’ve seen beautiful designs like this, but I’m not sure if you’re as much into making art out of food as I am (I tend to make artwork more often than meals). Here’s a picture of what I mean, though they used kiwi here: https://thecookieshopinenglish.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/cala-a-boca-galvao-vanillakiwi-kanten-jelly/ — This isn’t necessary, you can probably just throw the strawberries into the cherry kanten, but I thought I’d mention it as an idea. ^-^
I hope this helps!
can i use fruit pulp already available in the market with agar agar and wht will be the procedure then??
Hi Pankhudi! Sure, you can serve with fresh fruit, or use canned fruit with syrup too. 🙂
i love this thank you.
Thank you for reading my post! 🙂
Hi im new in this jelly making journey. I’m very confused with the difference between agar-agar, jelly, gelatin and konyaku or konyaku that has a pack of Asid malic. ( did try asking bakery supplyer but they no nothing).
Can you explain further what are the difference. Can all the type above be re heat and melt if I don’t like the form or the pattern. If it can be re cook…how many times can it be done?
Is there vegetarian gelatin?
Can I mix gelatin with agar -agar or gelatin with konyaku or konyaku with agar-agar?
I realize from this picture the kanten is clearer in colour then our local agar agar powder. Am I correct?
Hopefully I’ll receive reply from you. Thank you for taking time to read this.
Hi Ng! I’m not an expert in this field, so probably it’s better for you to google and research as I would have to do the same to answer your questions. While I was writing this post I came across this site and it was helpful.
http://www.cuoca.com/library/event/special/gelatin/
It’s written in Japanese, but use Google chrome and translate to English. From top, they compared Agar agar, gelatin, and Japanese kanten.
Sorry I wish I could help, but I don’t know details of each ingredient and I can’t tell without researching. I made a short summery of kanten/agar agar already in the following post.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry/agar-agar-kanten/
Hope this helps. Thank you!
Hi! I’ve been wanting to make this for a while but I was just wondering if use could use anything other than the plain agar agar jelly (e.g. lemon flavored) and if it would still taste good..
Hi Ayame! Yes, you can make it with milk, lemon, anything. Add more sugar if you like too. I made it plain as that’s how it is traditionally for Anmitsu. 🙂
Hi, I made this recipe a week or two ago and the jelly never set. I left it out for a bit then I put it in the fridge for 3 days. I used flakes of agar. Did I forget to do or compensate for something?
Hi Susan! I have never used the flaked kanten, but I’m guessing that your kanten wasn’t melted completely in the water. Since yours wasn’t powder, it may take some time to melt completely, so please soak it for several minutes before you start cooking. Another reason can be if you add something sour (citrus fruits etc). It won’t solidify due to the chemical reaction. I assume you followed my recipe – please try soaking first. Hope this helps! 🙂
I started to make jelly …. quite confusing. I am based in JB Johor Malaysia. Here, even the seller cant tell me much on many things. They sell jelly powder, agar agar powder, JAPAN agar agar powder, gelatine and Konnyaku powder. Mostly in loose-form except konnyaku. Can you tell me the difference and usage?
Hi Joshua! Basically, each of above product makes jelly, but each one has different source. I mentioned about agar agar (probably it is Japan agar agar, according to you) here, but you can google to find more details. Sorry, I’m not too familiar in details and I have to look it up myself. 🙂
I really want to try this, I looks yummy. Can I add juice or something to the recipe to create different flavors?
Hi Elizabeth! Yes, it’s common to add coffee and milk flavor. Adjust the sugar amount to your liking! 🙂
This reminds me of my childhood, my mum would soak some agar agar sheets to make the jelly. Then in the 90’s konnyaku jelly was all the rage and people stopped making agar agar. Do you know what is the difference between the two jellies?
Hi Ker-Yng! Well, konnyaku is made of yum (plant) while agar agar is made with seaweed. 🙂
Nami, I have a lot of kanten in stick form that I’d like to use up. How do I convert this recipe from powder to stick amount?
Hi Julie! Thank you for the question. I updated the recipe – 1 stick of kanten is 4 g kanten powder, which requires 500 ml of water. 🙂