What Type Of Seaweed To Choose
There are different types of seaweed used in seaweed salads in Asia, including Wakame, Nori, Sea Lettuce, hijiki, Dulse, or Irish moss. But the most commonly used type of seaweed for salad is Kelp, which is of the brown variety. When dried, kelp turns a much darker brownish-green nearly black. When cooking, dry kelp needs to be reconstituted before use.
Why Kelp? Kelp is strong in flavor compared to other types of seaweed, which tastes like a fresh oyster. It also can have a bit of an umami taste , which is a very savory taste.
However, its important to find clean organic products as seaweed can be easily contaminated by waters that are polluted.
Can Seaweed Salad Make You Sick
Potentially, yes seaweed salad can cause some health problems.
Seaweed is notable for its high-iodine levels and because of this, too much can cause problems.
This is a health nightmare for people with thyroid issues. Also, people who have heart or kidney conditions will not benefit from eating a lot of seaweed salad as high potassium levels in seaweed can lead to nausea and weakness for people who have kidney issues.
Seaweed also tends to absorb toxins and heavy metals depending on the water in which they grew.
Gastrointestinal problems can develop in some people if they eat seaweed salad due to a seaweed-based ingredient, Carrageenan.
It may be very easy to assume that since seaweed is a vegetable with a load of nutritious benefits, it is safe or even better to eat more of it but the reverse is the case. Seaweed salad should be eaten in moderation.
Chinese Cold Seaweed Salad: Recipe Instructions
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the kelp, and simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Drain and rinse thoroughly in cold water. Drain completely and set aside.
Next, make the sauce / dressing. In a large heat-proof bowl, arrange the minced garlic, minced ginger, Thai chilies, and the white parts of the scallions so theyre next to each other at the bottom of the bowl. Dont pile them on top of each other, as youll be pouring hot oil over everything, and you want it in an even layer.
Next, add 3 tablespoons of oil to a small pot or saucepan. Add the Sichuan peppercorns and let them infuse the oil over low heat for 10 minutes until fragrant. Take care not to burn the peppercorns. Scoop out the peppercorns, and turn up the heat on the oil until its just smoking. Then, immediately turn off the heat and pour the oil over the aromatics in your heat-proof bowl. The oil should be hot enough that the aromatics sizzle on contact.
Using a spoon, carefully stir the oil to evenly distribute the heat. Next, add the sugar, vinegar, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, salt, and five spice powder. Mix well. Finally, add the chopped green parts of the scallions and the cilantro.
Pour the dressing over the kelp
And toss to coat. Give it a taste, and add salt if needed.
This recipe makes a large batch that can be kept in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Just make sure to use a clean utensil any time youre handling it, as cross contamination will lead to faster spoilage.
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How Long Can You Keep Seaweed Salad In The Fridge
3 to four days, if it is kept in an airtight container and the fridge door is seldom opened and closed during this period. Anything after four days will encourage the salad to deteriorate. When this happens, your seaweed salad starts to manifest signs of spoilage like discoloration, a change in texture, and a change in smell. You can avoid this by storing your seaweed salad in your freezer.
Is Seaweed Salad Healthy
With seaweed as the main ingredient, this recipe is a great source of iodine and amino acid tyrosine. These are micronutrients that are essential for the production of the thyroid hormone and may help prevent hypothyroidism, a disease caused by hormone deficiency.
Additionally, this seaweed is loaded with other veggies and fruit like carrots, cucumbers, and avocados. They contain dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients that significantly enhance the nutritional value of this dish.
We firmly believe that a nutritious dish requires more than just healthy ingredients. Its also important to measure your portions and make sure they are moderate. Our recipe only uses 2.5 g saturated fat and 252.4 mg sodium, both of which take up less than 11% of the daily intake limit suggested by our guidelines.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This Seaweed Salad is such an easy recipe — it comes together in 15 minutes.
It’s a flavourful salad that you can eat on its own, or paired in a Poke Bowl.
There’s no cooking involved in making this salad.
The Seaweed Salad contains whole ingredients — no artificial colours or flavours here!
It only contains 7 ingredients, with a majority being aromatics and flavourings.
Ingredients In Japanese Wakame Seaweed Salad
- cut dried wakame You should be able to purchase wakame in local Asian grocery stores. If not, you can order it online. If you cant find cut wakame, you can chop the leaves yourself after hydrating them.
- coconut aminos: If youare able to consume grains and gluten, you can substitute with soy sauce or tamari sauce.
- rice vinegar: Apple cider vinegar will also work in a pinch.
- toasted sesame oil
- red pepper flakes: I recommend 1 teaspoon, but you can add more if you like more heat.
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How To Make Seaweed Salad Recipe
The salad is pretty easy to put together, and it makes a great side dish for rice or sushi. Let me share with you the very few steps needed to make this salad.
Ingredients:
- 1 sliced red chilli
Directions:
Making Simple Seaweed Salad
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How To Make Poke Bowl
HOW TO STORE YOUR POKE BOWL
For the extra seaweed salad, I tend to store it in a glass container for up to a week. Poke bowls are best consumed within 48 hours.
OTHER dinner IDEAS:
Variations Of Seaweed Salad
I know some seaweed salads are a bit spicy, so you want more heat, try adding some chili flakes, or a chili paste like sambal oelek or sriracha to the dressing. Its also good with a bit of garlic in the dressing.
In Japan, seaweed salad is often dressed with Ponzu, which is a citrus sauce made with yuzu juice, soy sauce, and a bit of sugar. Its light, refreshing, and perhaps my favorite way of dressing this nutrient-dense salad.
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What Kind Of Seaweed Is Used In This Recipe
While there are many varieties of seaweed , I only know of two kinds of seaweed frequently used in Chinese cuisine.
Theres laver , which is what we use in my favorite Seaweed Egg Drop Soup, and kelp , which is what this recipe calls for. We also use it in my Pork Bone with Lotus Root Soup and Chicken Feet Peanut Soup. Given the health benefits, seaweed shows up as a nutritious powerhouse and flavor agent in many soups.
When dried, kelp turns a much darker shade of greenalmost black. You may be more familiar with these dried sheets of kelp, but I used fresh kelp in this recipe. It is a brighter green color, and came pre-sliced into long, thin noodles.
Kelp is quite strong in flavor, with a briny oceanic taste. Its not as mild as the wakame seaweed used in Japanese-style seaweed salads, which is why there are some very strong flavors in the dressingchili, raw garlic, vinegar, and ginger.
Kelp, or hidài, also has a savory umami element to it .
Recipe For Seaweed Salad
If you want to make your own seaweed salad, there are many great recipes available online. You can also make your own version by getting creative in the kitchen.
To make seaweed salad, youll first want to buy dried wakame, which is available in many Asian grocery stores or online.
To begin, rehydrate the wakame by adding it to a pot of boiled water and leaving it for a few minutes. Then, strain it in a colander and run cold water over it. Be sure to squeeze out any excess liquid.
After this, you can add a variety of nutritious ingredients, such as shredded carrots, ginger, sesame seeds, daikon radish, and edamame. Its OK to get creative and experiment with different vegetables, herbs, and spices.
Finally, choose a type of seasoning for the salad. Usually, sesame seed oil, soy sauce, and vinegar are used as a base for the dressing. You can also add chili flakes, a little sugar, and salt to taste.
One recipe by Yeung Man Cooking offers a nutrient-dense sesame salad that is easy to make and equally delicious. Check out his video here.
Another quick and simple recipe comes from Caroline Caron-Phelps, a Japanese-French Canadian recipe creator who offers many delicious Japanese-inspired recipes on her website, Pickled Plum.
Summary
You can easily make seaweed salad at home by following popular recipes online or getting creative in the kitchen. You can purchase dried wakame by visiting an Asian supermarket or ordering from an online retailer.
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How To Make Seaweed Salad
The first thing you need to do is rehydrate the dried seaweed. Although most seaweed will rehydrate in about 6-7 minutes, it takes much longer than that for the moisture content to reach equilibrium within the thicker parts of the seaweed. The problem is, if you soak the seaweed for too long, it will get soggy and water down the dressing. Thats why I like draining it at around the 6-7 minute mark and then let it rehydrate the rest of the way in the dressing.
While the seaweed is soaking, whisk the toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, salt and ginger juice together.
Once the seaweed has rehydrated, drain it in a strainer. Then you want to gather it up with your hands and gently squeeze out any excess water.
Now you can toss the seaweed together with the dressing and add in the toasted sesame seeds and chopped scallions. You can eat it right away, but Id recommend letting it sit for at least an hour before eating. It will be even better if you leave it in the fridge overnight.
How To Make Spicy Seaweed Salad
How would you like your seaweed salad to have a little bit of heat to it? Let me share with you a method for making seaweed salad thats a bit on the spicy side, and you can add as much heat to it as you want to make it as spicy as you prefer.
Ingredients:
- 1 ounce of brown seaweed
- 3 ounces of Korean radishes
- 1/4 of an onion
- 1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons of vinegar
- 1 1/3 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of hot pepper paste
- 1/2 teaspoon of Korean hot pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon of soy sauce
Directions:
The hot pepper flakes and hot pepper paste are what make this a spicy seaweed salad. You can leave them out entirely and make a tasty salad that way or add more of them if you want it extra spicy. Now that you know a few ways to make seaweed salad, you may want to give this unique dish try. Once youve made it according to one of these recipes, you can make a few adjustments to make it more to your liking.
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Our Chinese Cold Salad Dressing
Recently, we posted our all-purpose Chinese Cold Salad Dressing. I did say that you can use the dressing on any assorted blanched vegetables, noodles, or tofu. However, my plan all along was to make this Chinese Cold Seaweed Salad recipe , as its a favorite of mine!
Along with Chinese Cold Wood Ear Mushroom Salad, this is the other cold appetizer we order most often when we eat out. I always feel good about ordering it for the table because of the health benefits of seaweed.
Its a super food thats actually very sustainable and has a whole host of vitamins and minerals. In the wintertime, we eat seaweed soup to ward off colds, but in the summer, we switch to this refreshing seaweed salad!
Whats In Seaweed Salad
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of different seaweed in the worlds oceans. Theyre not all edible, but many of them are, and they each have a unique color and texture. Thats why I usually prefer calling these sea veggies rather than seaweed.
Most seaweed salads include more than one kind of seaweed, and you can buy a seaweed salad mix that will come with a blend of different types of seaweed. Here are all the different kinds of sea vegetables included in my mix. Dont feel like you need to find one with all of these, but the more variety your mix has, the more colors and textures your salad will have.
As for the dressing, Japanese-American style seaweed salad gets its trademark flavor from toasted sesame oil, which is combined with soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, and sea salt. This creates a sweet, savory and tangy dressing brimming with the nutty flavor of toasted sesame.
I like the warm spicy kick that ginger adds, so Ive also added some ginger juice to the sauce this imparts a ginger flavor without the tough fibrous bits of ginger getting in the way. To make ginger juice, grate some ginger and then pass it through a strainer, pressing on the solids to get all the juice out.
I also wanted my salad to have a milder flavor that wont have you reaching for a glass of water after every bite, so I havent used a ton of salt or sugar in the dressing. If you want to make it more like the store bought kind, increase the amount of sugar and salt.
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Where Do I Get Dried Seaweed
- Asian markets usually carry bags of assorted dried seaweed, specifically for making a salad. If you dont have an Asian market nearby, you can buy it here on or at specialty grocery stores like Whole Foods.
- Wakame is a species of edible seaweed, a type of marine algae, and a sea vegetable. It has a subtly sweet, but distinctive and strong flavor and texture. It is most often served in soups and salads.
- Sea farmers in Japan have grown wakame since the Nara period . It’s considered the “superfood of the sea!”
Want another really great Japanese salad? You gotta try this super easy Japanese Bean Sprouts Salad! This is another traditional starter served at most sushi bars.