How Do You 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. 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. 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. 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 ten
