How to Make Japanese Seaweed Salad

Japanese seaweed salad, also called "wakame salad," is a simple-yet-flavorful dish often found as a side in Japanese cuisine. The seaweed in wakame salad is an edible kelp native to East Asian waters and a staple of both Japanese and Korean diets. Outside of Japan, dried wakame can be purchased at nearly any Asian market and certain health food stores. Wakame is often praised as a healthy dietary addition because it is low in calories and high in minerals such as folate, calcium, iron and magnesium.

Things You'll Need

• 1 oz. dried wakame seaweed
• 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 2 tsp. roasted sesame seeds
• 1 tsp. sugar
• Red pepper flakes or chili powder (to taste)
• Mixing bowl
• Paper towel

Instructions

1. Soak the dried wakame seaweed in a bowl of warm water for about 5 minutes or until soft. The leaves will expand and unfurl into flexible, rubbery squares, at which point they are ready to be cut.

2. Drain the reconstituted wakame and briefly run it under cold water to rinse. Gently squeeze out the excess water and pat it dry with paper towel.

3. Slice the wakame into thin strips. It may have a tough spine or stem that runs down the center. Cut these stems out and throw them away. Use only the tender leafy part of the seaweed. Set your sliced wakame strips to the side.

4. Combine the rice vinegar, soy sauce, roasted sesame seeds, sugar and red pepper flakes/chili powder in a separate mixing bowl to make the salad dressing.

5. Add your sliced wakame to your bowl of dressing. Toss until the dressing is evenly distributed.

6. Serve immediately or chill salad in your refrigerator until you are ready to serve.

Tips & Warnings

• To add some extra texture to your salad, add a sliced Japanese cucumber.

References

• The Global Invasive Species Database: Undaria pinnatifida
• Nutrition Data: Wakame
• Gourmet Traveller: Wakame Seaweed Salad

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish