Lunch 2025

[C. sapidus]

Sometimes using up odds and ends leads to a fun meal. We had de-boned Costco chicken, some chipotle en adobo that needed using up, and sad-looking potato rolls. Sauteed and pureed the chipotle with garlic and cumin seed. Mixed with mayo, S&P, and chopped Tony Packo's sweet hot pickles.

 

End result: probably my favorite chicken salad ever (caveat: I rarely have chicken salad, so competition is low 😉).

 

Edited Saturday at 10:31 PM by C. sapidus
Color balance (log)

[Smithy]

Yesterday, while I was out grocery shopping, this caught my eye:

 

 

Huh. The ingredients included seaweed, mushroom, sugar, agar-agar, sesame seed, sesame oil, kikurage, vinegar, salt and pepper. What the heck. I took a flyer on it.

 

I seem to have forgotten to take a picture of the contents without the cover atop it. Sorry about that. The dressing was nice: tangy, slightly sweet but also tart. I was surprised at the overall texture, though: the greens were long and skinny, like noodles, and slippery enough that I suspect they're supposed to be slurped like noodles.

 

It was tasty enough, but I don't think I've found a new food love.

[liuzhou]

4 minutes ago, Smithy said:

Yesterday, while I was out grocery shopping, this caught my eye:

 

 

Huh. The ingredients included seaweed, mushroom, sugar, agar-agar, sesame seed, sesame oil, kikurage, vinegar, salt and pepper. What the heck. I took a flyer on it.

 

I seem to have forgotten to take a picture of the contents without the cover atop it. Sorry about that. The dressing was nice: tangy, slightly sweet but also tart. I was surprised at the overall texture, though: the greens were long and skinny, like noodles, and slippery enough that I suspect they're supposed to be slurped like noodles.

 

It was tasty enough, but I don't think I've found a new food love.

 

Do you remember if it said what kind of seaweed? It does look a bit strange. 

I love seaweed in general, but have never seen it with such odd ingredients before.

 

 

[Smithy]

12 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

 

Do you remember if it said what kind of seaweed? It does look a bit strange. 

I love seaweed in general, but have never seen it with such odd ingredients before.

 

 

 

No, it didn't specify the type of seaweed. I was expecting something with branches or joints. I wonder if baby kelp is eaten this way?

[liuzhou]

6 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

No, it didn't specify the type of seaweed. I was expecting something with branches or joints. I wonder if baby kelp is eaten this way?

 

Baby kelp is certainly eaten but not eaten that way, at least here. It could be kelp, I suppose but hard to tell.

 

 

[Smithy]

@liuzhou, the other thing that struck me as odd, once I looked up "kikurage", was that they listed mushroom and kikurage at different points in the ingredient list. What else struck you as odd with the ingredients? 

[liuzhou]

2 minutes ago, Smithy said:

@liuzhou, the other thing that struck me as odd, once I looked up "kikurage", was that they listed mushroom and kikurage at different points in the ingredient list. What else struck you as odd with the ingredients? 

 

Yes. the kikurage and mushroom struck me as odd. Why the use of the use of the Japanese name for what I think is better known as woodear mushroom?  To sound more exotic? And what are the other mushrooms?

 

But I was more surprised by the number of ingredients. In my experience seaweed is a very simple dish which seeks to preserve the fresh taste of the ingredient; not to mask it with sugar, vinegar, agar agar etc.

 

 

[Duvel]

55 minutes ago, Smithy said:

Yesterday, while I was out grocery shopping, this caught my eye:

 

 

Huh. The ingredients included seaweed, mushroom, sugar, agar-agar, sesame seed, sesame oil, kikurage, vinegar, salt and pepper. What the heck. I took a flyer on it.

 

I seem to have forgotten to take a picture of the contents without the cover atop it. Sorry about that. The dressing was nice: tangy, slightly sweet but also tart. I was surprised at the overall texture, though: the greens were long and skinny, like noodles, and slippery enough that I suspect they're supposed to be slurped like noodles.

 

It was tasty enough, but I don't think I've found a new food love.

This is a classic Japanese preparation of wakame. The texture comes from using mainly the stems (kuki wakame) and not the leaves (which are dried and used as a separate ingredient). Dressing of mirin (sugar), rice vinegar and sesame is equally common - this salad is served usually in summer, when it is considered as refreshing. Mushroom powder to add umami, and kikurage threads (together with the agar-agar) to absorb liquid from the seaweed to maintain a proper texture (e.g. not watery) in a product that will not be consumed immediately after preparation …

[rotuts]

This is commonly sold locally in various seafood markets .

 

looks like this :

 

 

in a common form.

[Smithy]

52 minutes ago, rotuts said:

This is commonly sold locally in various seafood markets .

 

looks like this :

 

 

in a common form.

 

That looks a lot like what I had. Can you shed any light on what type of seaweed? Or maybe someone else can, from the photo.

[rotuts]

Wiki suggests

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wakame

 

that's where i got the pic,

 

the green stufff.

 

its identical to the stuff I used to buy locally.

 

and the same for the Fish Place down on CapeCod  ( WHPS )

 

the dressing changes a bit from place to pace.

 

the seaweed is the same Id say.

Edited 10 hours ago by rotuts (log)

[Duvel]

1 hour ago, Smithy said:

Can you shed any light on what type of seaweed? Or maybe someone else can, from the photo.

Not to be a little knowitall, but I‘ve answered that two posts above: it is wakame, a kelp variety, and specifically the stems of said wakame seaweed (in Japanese referred to as kuki-wakame) are in your salad. You can buy it in bulk, if you want …

[rotuts]

A P.S.   I have no idea where the seaweed is purchased from 

 

as the green is fresh vs the darker colored dried stuff.

 

 

[Smithy]

3 minutes ago, Duvel said:

Not to be a little knowitall, but I‘ve answered that two posts above: it is wakame, a kelp variety, and specifically the stems of said wakame seaweed (in Japanese referred to as kuki-wakame) are in your salad. You can buy it in bulk, if you want …

 

You did indeed say that. Thanks for the polite reiteration. And thanks also to @rotuts and @liuzhou for their insights. I've learned something today!