Last time I got back from Hong Kong, half of my suitcase was filled with food, and this small pack was one of them – dried wakame seaweed, a low-carbs green vegetable being linked to lower cholesterol levels and decreased blood pressure.
How to Rehydrate Wakame Seaweed
Where to Buy Wakame Seaweed in the UK
One day, we made a short trip to Kadoorie Farm and back to Tai Po Market. Following my family trudging through a few narrow alleys, a local store filled with Shanwei(汕尾)specialities. They say their peppery pork balls (胡椒豬肚丸) are good.
And I spotted this tea leaf-like thing lying in the corner. Its name is 裙帶菜, which was a bit confusing for me since I couldn’t immediately relate any food to that.
Mom added, ‘it’s seaweed.’
‘Oh I see!’ Then I asked the owner, ‘how to cook this?’
‘Soak it, then cook with soup or noodles!’ She said.
Okay, I’ll try one then.
After it being ignored for more than 2 months, I finally googled it for recipes.
In Hong Kong, it’s called 海帶芽. If you search in Japanese? わかめ. Ah~wakame! The ‘green nori’ in miso soup!
But for the first try, let’s make a salad since I have a pack of bean sprouts to be finished.
Here is the Japanese recipe I adapted from. Quick and easy.
Rehydrate Wakame Seaweed in 15 minutes
The recipe calls for 2 g wakame, but I doubt it was too less so I went for 5 g, which turned out looked like a lot, but we ate it all!
Also, wakame does not require hours of soaking time. In just 15 minutes, the wakame can be fully rehydrated and soft and ready to eat! It’s so convenient!
Where to Buy Wakame Seaweed in the UK?
First thought, sending from Hong Kong is an option because wakame is a processed plant product which doesn’t require any plant health certificate when imported to the UK. Besides, wakame is light in weight, so it won’t cost too much.
But then I searched on Amazon, a big pack(500 g) of Japanese wakame seaweed costs only £15, which is affordable. A Chinese origin wakame would cost slightly cheaper, around £13.
Now, on to the recipe.
Ingredients
Serves 2-4
- 5 g dried wakame seaweed
- 150 g bean sprouts
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp toasted seasame
- ¼ tsp salted vegetable bouillon powder
- 1 tsp soy sauce(I used less salt)
- ¼ tsp sugar
How to Make Wakame Seaweed and Bean Sprouts Salad
- Soak the wakame seaweed in water for 20-30 mins, squeeze out the water and cut into smaller size. Meanwhile, mix all the seasonings and garlic in a bowl.
- Blanch bean sprouts in boiling water for 1 minute, drain really well. (Alternatives: microwave the bean sprouts for about one and a half minute at 600w)
- Finally mix everything together and it’s done!
