Wakame is a reddish-brown seaweed that is used in Japanese cuisine to make everything from miso soup to savory salads. The typical way to purchase wakame is in dried sheets. To make a salad from dried wakame, soak it to reconstitute it and then combine it with the rest of the ingredients. If you are fortunate enough to get your hands on fresh wakame, you must simmer it first to reduce the salt content and to make it tender.
Step 1
Soak the wakame for three to five minutes to remove any dirt or salt crust.
Step 2
Bring 8 cups of water to a boil over high heat in a stockpot.
Step 3
Add the fresh wakame to the stockpot. Poke the wakame with a slotted spoon to submerge it in the water.
Step 4
Simmer the wakame for one minute, then drain it into a colander. Rinse the wakame under cool water to wash off the residual salt and to stop the cooking process.
Step 5
Trim the wakame with the chef's knife to cut out the woody rib. Discard the ribs and cut the leaves into 2-inch pieces.
Step 6
Combine the wakame with two thinly-sliced cucumbers, one-half of a thinly-sliced red onion, four thinly-sliced red radishes and one thinly-sliced red or green pepper, if you are using them.
Step 7
Serve the wakame salad with rice-wine vinegar or miso-mayonnaise dressing to taste.
Things You'll Need
- 8 cups water
- Stockpot
- 1 lb. fresh wakame
- Slotted spoon
- Colander
- Chef's knife
- 2 thinly-sliced cucumbers, optional
- 1/2 thinly-sliced red onion, optional
- 4 thinly-sliced red radishes, optional
- 1 thinly-sliced red or green pepper, optional
- Rice-wine vinegar or miso-mayonnaise dressing, to taste
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