WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
The commercial seaweed salad in many grocery stores and restaurants is often uninspired, typically consisting of just one type of seaweed, with additives and preservatives, and tossed with a dressing so sweet it could practically be mistaken for dessert. For our
version, the bar was much higher: a salad with textural contrast, a flavorful but balanced dressing, and a fresh, sweet-briny finish. To showcase variety, we chose three types of dried seaweed. Wakame is most recognizable as the leafy green seaweed in miso soup. Kombu is a type of kelp and one of the two primary ingredients used to make traditional dashi broth. Finally, we included hijiki, which is milder than kombu and wakame and adds an understated vegetal sea flavor without being briny. Rehydrating in warm water for about 15 minutes gave the seaweed just the right texture. We also sliced the kombu thin, to make its firmer, leathery consistency more palatable for a salad. For the dressing, we used vegetable oil, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, and fresh ginger. A little brown sugar provided just the right amount of sweetness, while sesame seeds added a toasty note and fresh scallions offset the slightly sweet vinaigrette perfectly.
SERVES: 4
TOTAL TIME: 35 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
- 6 tablespoons (½ ounce) wakame
- 1½ tablespoons (⅛ ounce) hijiki
- ¼ ounce kombu
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 1½ tablespoons soy sauce
- 1½ teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 2 scallions, sliced thin on bias
INSTRUCTIONS:
- SOAK WAKAME AND HIJJIKI
- Place wakame and hijiki in a large bowl and add warm water to cover completely.
- Let seaweed sit until softened (wakame should double in size and kombu should be pliable), about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- DRAIN AN DDRY WAKAME AND HIJIKI
- Drain wakame and hijiki in a fine-mesh strainer, pressing firmly on seaweed to extract as much water as possible.
- Transfer wakame and hijiki to a paper towel–lined plate and pat dry. Set aside.
- PREPARE KOMBU
- Drain kombu, rinse well, and pat dry with paper towels.
- Place kombu on a cutting board with the long side facing you.
- Roll kombu away from you into a tight cylinder, then slice thin crosswise.
- PREPARE THE DRESSING AND TOSS
- Whisk vegetable oil, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger together in a large bowl.
- Add sesame seeds, wakame, hijiki, and kombu, and toss to combine.
- SERVE
- Transfer to individual serving bowls and sprinkle with scallions.
- Serve and enjoy your delicious seaweed salad!
