Kudzu powder

Kudzu powder, called géfěn (葛粉) in Chinese, kuzuko (葛粉; くずこ) in Japanese, and chik-garu (칡가루) or galbun (갈분; 葛粉) in Korean, is a starch powder made from the root of the kudzu plant. It is used in traditional East Asian cuisine mainly for thickening sauces and making various types of desserts.

Kuzukiri and kuromitsu in Kyoto

Examples of dishes that use kuzuko:[1]

• ankake (liquid stock thickened with kuzuko)
• goma-dofu (kuzuko pudding with sesame paste)

Examples of wagashi (Japanese desserts) with kuzuko:

• kuzukiri (clear cake of boiled kuzuko cut into noodle-like strips and eaten with kuromitsu)
• kuzuzakura (a.k.a. kuzu-dama, a cake of bean paste covered with kuzuko)
• Mizu manjū (red bean paste is coated with translucent kuzuko paste that is then allowed to set into a jelly-like consistency)

Examples of Tong sui (Chinese desserts usually in soup form)

• Got Fan soup

References

1. Shitomi, Kazuyoshi; Kumakura, Isao. "The Japanese Table -- Dried Tofu, Noodles and Starch -- Kudzu Starch: Kuzuko". Kikkoman. Archived from the original on 2010-10-09.