Seaweed

[Jason Perlow]

I was not aware korean nori was any different from Japanese nori. Whats the difference?

[torakris]

I was not aware korean nori was any different from Japanese nori. Whats the difference?

Korean style nori is flavored with sesame oil and salt and the ones I buy tend to be much thinner then the Japanese brands. It also seeems to be crunchy without toasting.

[Fat Guy]

I've had a couple of really nice seaweed salads in Japanese restaurants lately. Where does this stuff come from. Do people just walk along the beach and harvest it, or is it farmed somehow?

[Jason Perlow]

Its a huge industry, and yeah, its farmed.

http://www.spc.org.nc/coastfish/News/Fish_...s/95/NIAR_9.htm

[gus_tatory]

hey FG--

in new brunswick (not quite the same as japan, i'd guess hehe?), as you know from your travels, there's a whole industry built on harvesting and drying dulse in the grand manaan area. people drive around with whole trunks-full of the stuff. it's probably tax-free income in most cases, and ecologically anyway, the supply does not appear to be drying up, so to speak...

and those of us who are more or less landlocked, but who still crave dulse, are very thankful that they do so.

having said that, i have never tried a true japanese-style seaweed-salad. am sure i would love it. must do that this weekend...

gus (lllove seaweed...)

[Katherine]

I know a woman whose mother, a native of Japan, came to visit her on the coast of Maine. They went for a walk on the beach, and the older woman gathered up an armful of the seaweed (the stringy kind with the bubbles in it), took it back to the house, prepared and served it.

[Nick]

Here's the website of a company here in Maine that harvests and sells different sea weeds. I haven't heard of anyone "farming" weed in Maine.

[gus_tatory]

Katherine and others--

that's so cool that the older japanese woman was harvesting fucus (yes, that's the name for that burgundy, bubbled seaweed) for use!

my mom used to gather irish moss on nova scotia beaches for use in gelled desserts. it's harvested commercially, and used as a texturing agent--look at many, many foods and it's labelled as carageenan.

besides what FG mentioned about seaweeds tasting great, they're one of the only foods that have the spectrum of trace minerals in them, as of course their habitat is the sea...

[torakris]

In Japan, it is done by both methods, though cultivation is much more popular.

There are even seaweed flats out in the middle of Tokyo Bay!

[mudbug]

Looking for any information on how to use this "Land Seaweed"

The scientific/Latin/botanical name is Salsola komarovi.

How to eat this? Methods of preparation? Any help would be appreciated. Found the following pictures but not positive as to which is the most common for Okahijiki (assuming the last three).

Edited July 26, 2003 by mudbug (log)

[torakris]

okahijiki is used mostly in dressed salads (aemono) and vinegared salads (sunomono), it is especially wonderful in a shira-ae dressing:

http://recipes.egullet.com/recipes/r328.html

edited to make me sound like I actually know English!

Edited July 27, 2003 by torakris (log)

[mudbug]

torakris,

Thank you. Please tell me, is the okahijiki blanched first? Soaked in water? Also, could you please post the full version of a recipe for shira-ae with authentic ingredients?

I really know nothing so you'll have to tell me.

Edited July 27, 2003 by mudbug (log)

[torakris]

to prepare okahijiki trim off the hard ends then blanch in salted water for a minute or so, refresh in an ice bath.

[torakris]

about shira-ae

My posted recipe is sort of a quick version on the original which calls for the seame seeds to be roasted and then ground, I save a step (with no lack of flavor) by using seame paste.

There are not really any "traditional" ingredients, it is really one of those wonderful dishes that you can add any seasonal ingredient to. the most "traditional" one I can think of is something along the lines of gomoku (5 flavors) which would have 5 different ingredients preferably of different colors, such as shiitake, konnyaku, carrots, aburage and one or two green things (green vegetables, seaweed, cucumbers, etc).

I don't think I have ever made or eaten the same shira-ae twice.

[jackal10]

I think this stuff ( I'm growing some) i closely related to Samphire.

Boil briefly, butter, suk the flesh off the stems..

[jango]

Is nori always sold already roasted?

Are there some kinds which are simply dried but not roasted?

If nori is green, but there is no mention of "roasting" on the label, do we presume that it is roasted?

Thanks for any enlightenment - I'm all googled out.

[torakris]

Actually most nori (in Japan at least) is sold unroasted allowing the person to roast it themselves be waving it over a gas flame.

Pre-roasted nori can be spotted by the words yaki nori on the package. It is preferable to roast nori before using it with sushi so some packets of yakinori may also be labeled as sushi nori. There is no need to toast the yaki nori types.

There is also flavored nori called ajitsuke nori that comes in various flavors most commonly soy, but 3 of my favorites are ume, wasbi and shiso (these may be hard to find out of Japan)

Another thing to remember about nori is that there are 2 kinds

asakusa nori which is harvested from bays

iwanori which is harvested from the shore

both are dried into flat sheets and look the same but asakusa is higher quality and preferable for sushi.

[jango]

Thanks for responding. Can I bug you with another question?

Do home cooks make sheets of nori themselves? And if they do does it taste better? - in the way that homemade pasta sheets taste better than storebought........ and homemade tortillas etc etc.

[torakris]

this doesn't really answer your question but it is an interesting article about the history of nori:

http://www.sushiandtofu.com/sushi_and_tofu...healthNori2.htm

[torakris]

Thanks for responding.  Can I bug you with another question?

Do home cooks make sheets of nori themselves?  And if they do does it taste better?  - in the way that homemade pasta sheets taste better than storebought........ and homemade tortillas etc etc.

I have been looking around and asking around about making your own nori, it seems to be one of those things akin to candle making in the US. Basically it is only down in those touristy historical village type areas where you pay someone to teach you and you walk away with one sheet. From what I can gather it was rarely made at home, either it was made by the local "nori maker" or maybe made in groups.

I am sure like most handmade products the handmade nori probably tastes better but I can't find anyone who has tasted it.........

[jrufusj]

How funny we should be talking about how/where nori is made...

Saturday night we had a cocktail party with about 25 people and, among other things, I made a huge batch of hosu maki. When we were toasting the nori, my almost 5 year-old son was going on and on asking about how nori was made and I only escaped the repetitive (you understand what I mean if you have kids that age) questioning by promising to arrange a visit to a nori "plant".

Of course, being the inquisitive, food-driven type I am, I am secretly looking forward to the field trip as well.

Any suggestions?

Also, re: flavored nori -- in Korea, except for sushi nori, almost all nori is salted and fairly heavily flavored with sesame oil. Delicious as a snack or a garnish for plain gohan, but pretty useless for most food combinations.

Thanks in advance for any "field trip" tips. Either Korea or Japan are convenient possibilities, as I kind of live back and forth between the two.

Jim

[torakris]

How funny we should be talking about how/where nori is made...

Saturday night we had a cocktail party with about 25 people and, among other things, I made a huge batch of hosu maki.  When we were toasting the nori, my almost 5 year-old son was going on and on asking about how nori was made and I only escaped the repetitive (you understand what I mean if you have kids that age) questioning by promising to arrange a visit to a nori "plant".

I know nothing about places in Korea, but I am sure in most of the coastal areas that are famous for their nori, they will let you watch it being made.

Here is one place in Mie-ken that actually lets you make it!

http://www.geocities.jp/canonfumi/wajyuunosato.htm

Japanese only

[FoodZealot]

Everyone, thank you for the info about the various kinds of nori.

I was just reminded of one of my recent obsessions - noriten. It's essentially a piece of nori that is dipped in tempura batter (usually one side), then fried crisp. My local noodle place puts one piece in the assorted tempura. Deep fried umami!

It's also available in bags like potato chips at a Japanese market. Unfortunately, these are loaded with fat, preservatives and sodium. I get them in the small bag...

~Tad

[FoodZealot]

I went to my favorite Korean market and remembered the discussion of Korean sesame oil seasoned nori. On top of that, there was a woman handing out samples, and I got a bunch. As billed, it's delicious and crispy, too. Thanks, everyone.

BTW, when toasting nori, I suggest that you take care to not burn it, as it causes a peculiar and, to me, unappetizing smell - kinda smells like burnt hair.

~Tad

edit: used incorrect definition of an eGullet moment

Edited September 22, 2003 by FoodZealot (log)

[dornachu]

Hi all-

I'm new to this forum, but what a WONDERFUL place to learn about japanese culture/food/ even the language!! (daily nihongo)!!

I was trying to replicate the wakame salad that one can get at a regular japanese restaurant, but without success. I bought one of those dried seaweed (fuero wakame, spelling??!) soak themin water, and blanched it breifly, but the texture came out to be sort of slimy! Also the ones I had at the restaurant has this gelatin thing...so yummy. Can someone please teach me how to do it? and what kind of wakame to get? Thank you!!

Dorna