This easy Japanese seaweed salad, also known as Wakame Salad or Kaisou Sarada, has a colourful mix of seaweed and cucumbers dressed in a nutty toasted sesame and ginger dressing.
There are dozens of edible varieties of seaweed (a.k.a. sea vegetables), each one with a different shape, colour, texture, and taste. Seaweed is incredibly rich in minerals such as iodine, calcium, and magnesium. It's an excellent source of vitamins, including Vitamin K and Vitamin B9, and provides healthy omega-3 fatty acids. The iodine content in seaweed supports thyroid function, while the fibre is great for your digestive health.
Combining seaweed with other ingredients like cucumbers and sesame seeds can further enrich the dish with antioxidants and phytonutrients such as flavonoids and omega-6 fatty acids.
INGREDIENTS
- Seaweed - The more varieties of seaweed your mix contains, the more colours and textures your salad will have. I love using kelp, wrack, mermaids hair and sea lettuce.
- Cucumber - I like adding cucumber because it adds a refreshing crunch and a beautiful splash of green. Salting removes the excess water while transforming its texture from crispy to crunchy, which works beautifully with the slick seaweed.
- Toasted Sesame Seeds - These impart a nutty, earthy flavour and add a fun poppy texture to each bite.
- Leeks - Finely chopped leeks adds an onion flavour that contrasts the briny seaweed nicely. You can also use spring onions or chives.
- Rice Vinegar - Rice vinegar has a smooth acidity and mild sweetness that brightens the salad without making it too sour. Apple cider vinegar will also work.
- Toasted Sesame Oil - The nutty signature flavour of seaweed salad comes from toasted sesame oil. If you want a lighter, more refreshing salad, try substituting olive oil or grapeseed oil.
- Soy Sauce - Soy sauce not only seasons the seaweed, but it also draws out its inherent umami. If you want to make this gluten-free, just substitute tamari or coconut aminos.
- Salt - I like to keep the amount of soy sauce to a minimum because its brown colour muddles the vibrant hues of the seaweed. That's why I supplement the seasoning with a little salt.
- Sugar - Japanese cuisine balances salt and umami with sweetness to achieve harmony. I use coconut sugar to achieve this, but honey, agave syrup, or regular granulated sugar will work fine.
- Grated Ginger - Grating some fresh ginger into the dressing adds a warm, spicy note that lifts the salad's flavour.
- Chili Flakes - To kick up the heat and add a pop of red to the salad, I add a pinch of chopped chili rings or flakes.
METHOD
- Prepare the seaweed - boil kelp; bake nori or sea lettuce; wrack and chord weed can go in raw.
- Thinly slice the cucumbers and toss them with a pinch of salt. Let these sweat for 10 minutes. The salt draws moisture out of the cucumbers through osmosis, which will help keep your salad from getting watery.
- To prepare the salad dressing, just whisk the rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, salt, grated ginger, and chili flakes to taste together until the salt and sugar dissolve.
- Add seaweed to the dressing.
- Once the cucumbers start to sweat, massage them until they're limp and translucent. They should release a ton of water, and the texture changes from crispy to crunchy. Gather the cucumbers with your hands and squeeze as much liquid out of them as possible, then add them to the bowl with the seaweed.
- Then all you have to do is toss the seaweed, cucumbers, toasted sesame seeds, and chopped leeks together with the dressing until it's evenly combined.