Seaweed salad is a popular side dish in Asia, it’s good to pair with noodle soups, meat stews, or BBQ. It is healthy, delicious, and easy to make. Seaweed is the common name for thousands of species of marine plants and algae that grow in the ocean. Edible seaweed, or sea vegetables can be used for seaweed salad, soups, or hotpot. Dried seaweed is easy to store and can last for a long time. This Kelp seaweed salad recipe is a typical Northern Chinese style. It tastes like a bit spicy, garlicky, and salty fresh.
What is Seaweed Salad Made of?
Seaweed salad is made of seaweed, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, chicken bouillon, minced garlic, and optional sesame chilli hot sauce if you prefer spicy, or sesame oil for non-spicy version.
How Healthy is Seaweed Salad?
Seaweed is typically rich in vitamins and minerals, as well as high in fiber. It contains iodine and tyrosine, which support thyroid function. Seaweed is rich in iron, calcium, and contains riboflavin, thiamin, manganese, copper. It has s small amounts of vitamins A, C, E and K, as well as folate, zinc, sodium, and magnesium. Seaweed can also be a good source of omega-3 fats, vitamin B12, and antioxidant.
Seaweed may lower cholesterol, reduce blood sugar, help to reduce inflammation, and improve immunity.
In 1907, a Japanese scientist discovered the umami flavour while he was having a seaweed tofu soup. It taste differently from sweet, salty, sour, bitter, or spicy. Since then, he studied the composition of the seaweeds and find out the new flavour is a type of amino acid, which is called Glutamate. In 1909, he figured out how to produce this amazing umami flavour, and invented MSG.
I grew up in inland, where seaweed is not that common. Back in the late 80’s, some vendors starting to bring the salted seaweed, later on the dried seaweed to the inland cities. It was well known for helping bowel movement, detox, cleansing, and support gut health. I love the taste and the texture, and it is a must have with hotpot.
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 25 mins
Serving: 2
Ingredients:
Dry kelp seaweed: 1 sheet 8″ x 10″Dry kelp seaweed: 1 sheet 8″ x 10″
Soy sauce: 2 tsp
Rice vinegar: 1 tsp
Salt: 1 pinch
Chicken bouillon: 1 tsp (can be replaced with a pinch of MSG)
Garlic: 2 cloves minced
Sesame seeds: 1 tsp
Hot chilli pepper (Dried): 2, or 2 tsp crushed hot chilli pepper flakes
Cooking oil: 2 tsp
For non-spicy version: use 2 tsp sesame oil Instead of sesame seed, hot chilli pepper and cooking oil
Instructions:
- Cut the dry kelp sheet in to 4 pieces. The Seaweed will expand quite a bit in the water.
- Place the dried kelp in a pan with 4 cups of water on high heat until it boils. Then turn low heat simmer for 20 mins.
- Drain the seaweed after it cools down, and roll all the pieces together. Slice them vertically into long strips.
- Place them in a plate then add soy sauce, rice vinegar, salt, chicken bouillon, and set aside.
- Mince 2 gloves garlic and place it on top of the seaweed.
- Break 2 dried chilli peppers in a small bowl, then add sesame seeds.
- In a pan, put 2 tablespoons cooking oil on high heat until it is starts to boil.
- Turn down the heat, pour the hot oil over the chilli pepper and sesame mix. Watch it sizzle. The hot chilli oil is ready.
- Once the hot chilli oil cools a bit down, pour it over the Seaweed.
- Mix, mix, mix, and it is ready to serve.
Tips:
- Boiling the dried seaweed makes the cooking process faster. Another option to prepare the dried seaweed sheet is to soak the dried kelp for at least 4 hours ahead of time, then boil for 5 mins. This would reduce the cooking time, but has to be prepared in advance. Sometimes, I place the dried seaweed in a bowl of water over night, it would be ready the next morning.
- A pinch of sugar is optional, it would make the dish tastier for sure.
- For the non-spicy version, use sesame oil instead of the hot chilli oil.
- Add a bit green onion, cilantro, and carrots is also a good combination.
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Spicy Seaweed Salad
Print RecipeIngredients
- 1 sheet 8″ x 10″ dry kelp seaweed
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon (can be replaced with a pinch of MSG)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- 2 hot chilli pepper (Dried), or 2 tsp crushed hot chilli pepper flakes
- 2 tsp cooking oil
- For non-spicy version: use 2 tsp sesame oil Instead of sesame seed, hot chilli pepper and cooking oil
Instructions
- Use a scissor cut the dry kelp sheet in to 4 pieces.
This is the most popular spicy seaweed salad. - Place the dried kelp in a pan with water on high heat until it boils. Then turn to low heat, and simmer for 20 mins.
- Drain the seaweed after it cools down, and roll all the pieces together. Slice them thinly into long strips.
- Place them in a plate then add soy sauce, rice vinegar, salt, chicken bouillon, and minced garlic.
- Break 2 dried chilli peppers in a small bowl, then add sesame seeds.
- In a pan, put 2 tablespoons cooking oil on high heat until it is starts to smoke.
- Turn down the heat, pour the hot oil over the chilli pepper and sesame mix. Watch it sizzle. Be careful, the bowl is hot. The hot chilli oil is ready.
- Once the hot chilli oil cools down, pour it over the Seaweed.
- Mix, mix, mix, and it is ready to serve.
