Seaweed? Eww, gross, slimy! An unfortunate reputation surrounds these sea vegetables. This Japanese-inspired Seaweed Salad makes this exotic ingredient more approachable with it’s mild, sweet flavors. When rehydrated, seaweed has a nice chew, is not salty at all, and is not slimy in the slightest! It’s extremely mild, making it a vessel to carry other flavors. There may be no food product on earth more sustainable than seaweed. If you want to eat clean, healthy foods, look no further! Most seaweed you’ll find is farmed on oceanic coasts where the sea vegetables enjoy absorbing good nutrients from the seawater as they grow. They’re then sun-dried and shipped off to stores around the world.
If lowering your sodium intake is a goal of yours, seaweed salts are an excellent solution. Composed primarily of potassium and magnesium salts that they absorb from seawater, seaweed salts contain a lot less sodium than table salt. Using seaweed salts will allow you to enjoy well-seasoned food without worrying about sodium intake. They can be bought online.
When looking for seaweed, Kombu or Wakame are great choices for this dish. There’s a great variety in the kinds of edible seaweeds out there, so experiment to find your fav!
Notes for Seaweed Salad
- This recipe uses ginger which adds a fresh, spicy flavor. Using fresh ginger will always be my recommendation, but there are also quality jarred and squeeze tube products of ginger that make life easier so you don’t have to peel and grate your own. Though, having fresh ginger peels makes for great tea!
- Slicing green onion on a bias makes for an elegant garnish.
- 2 oz of seaweed may not seem like a lot, but remember, it will grow in volume a lot as it’s rehydrating! For a side dish, this recipe can easily feed four.
Ingredients
Method
- Soak seaweed according to instructions on package. It will likely take around an hour to rehydrate. This also takes out some of the salt from the seaweed so it's not super salty, and will give any sand that may be hiding in there time to wash out and collect at the bottom of your water bowl.
- Whisk together Ginger, Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar, Sesame Oil, and Honey.
- Take seaweed out of its water, drain well so we don't end up with a diluted, watery salad – just shake it over the bowl to get as much water off as you can. Slice into bite sized pieces. Toss with the dressing. Stir in most of your green onion.
- You can let this salad sit for a few minutes as the seaweed will soak up the dressing!
- Garnish with sesame seeds and the rest of the green onion if you want a nice presentation.
