Sushi Restaurant Style Seaweed Salad
If you’ve ever gone to Japan and asked for a seaweed salad only to get a strange look, followed by a dish that’s not quite what you expected, you might have questioned whether seaweed salad is even Japanese. When translated literally, seaweed salad is Kaisou Sarada (海藻サラダ) in Japanese; however, this refers to any salad with seaweed on top, not the bright green sesame oil seasoned side dish we’re used to getting at sushi restaurants in the States.
The good news is that there is a very similar salad made by home cooks in Japan, and it’s far more healthy than the packaged ones you can buy, which are often loaded with food coloring and MSG.
Table of contents
Why This Recipe Works?
- Using various sea vegetables such as wakame seaweed, konbu, and agar, this salad is naturally colorful and loaded with different textures and tastes.
- The dressing is redolent of nutty toasted sesame and ginger, which lend this salad that addictive flavor profile of a sushi restaurant-style seaweed salad.
- Seaweed salad is best when given a chance for the flavors to meld. This makes it a great make-ahead side dish that can fit into a weekly meal plan.
What’s in Seaweed Salad?
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of different seaweed in the world’s oceans. They’re not all edible, but many of them are, and they each have a unique color and texture. That’s why I usually prefer calling these sea veggies rather than seaweed.
Most seaweed salads include more than one kind of seaweed, and you can buy a seaweed salad mix that will come with a blend of different types of seaweed. Here are all the different kinds of sea vegetables included in my mix. Don’t feel like you need to find one with all of these, but the more variety your mix has, the more colors and textures your salad will have.
- Red Funori (赤ふのり, akafunori)
- Wakame Seaweed (わかめ, wakame)
- Wakame Stem (茎わかめ, kukiwakame)
- Red Tosaka (赤とさか, akatosaka)
- Green Tosaka (青とさか, aotosaka)
- White Tosaka (白とさか, shirotosaka)
- Konbu (こんぶ, konbu)
- Thread Agar (糸寒天, itokanten)
- Red Tsunomata (赤つのまた, akatsunomata)
- Green Mafunori (青まふのり, aomafunori)
As for the dressing, Japanese-American style seaweed salad gets its trademark flavor from toasted sesame oil, which is combined with soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, and sea salt. This creates a sweet, savory and tangy dressing brimming with the nutty flavor of toasted sesame.
I like the warm spicy kick that ginger adds, so I’ve also added some ginger juice to the sauce; this imparts a ginger flavor without the tough fibrous bits of ginger getting in the way. To make ginger juice, grate some ginger and then pass it through a strainer, pressing on the solids to get all the juice out.
I also wanted my salad to have a milder flavor that won’t have you reaching for a glass of water after every bite, so I haven’t used a ton of salt or sugar in the dressing. If you want to make it more like the store bought kind, increase the amount of sugar and salt.
How to Make Seaweed Salad
The first thing you need to do is rehydrate the dried seaweed. Although most seaweed will rehydrate in about 6-7 minutes, it takes much longer than that for the moisture content to reach equilibrium within the thicker parts of the seaweed. The problem is, if you soak the seaweed for too long, it will get soggy and water down the dressing. That’s why I like draining it at around the 6-7 minute mark and then let it rehydrate the rest of the way in the dressing.
While the seaweed is soaking, whisk the toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, salt and ginger juice together.
Once the seaweed has rehydrated, drain it in a strainer. Then you want to gather it up with your hands and gently squeeze out any excess water.
Now you can toss the seaweed together with the dressing and add in the toasted sesame seeds and chopped scallions. You can eat it right away, but I’d recommend letting it sit for at least an hour before eating. It will be even better if you leave it in the fridge overnight.
Variations of Seaweed Salad
I know some seaweed salads are a bit spicy, so you want more heat, try adding some chili flakes, or a chili paste like sambal oelek or sriracha to the dressing. It’s also good with a bit of garlic in the dressing.
In Japan, seaweed salad is often dressed with Ponzu, which is a citrus sauce made with yuzu juice, soy sauce, and a bit of sugar. It’s light, refreshing, and perhaps my favorite way of dressing this nutrient-dense salad.
Sushi Side Dish Recipes
- Pickled Sushi Ginger
- Kani Salad
- Sunomono (Cucumber & Wakame Seaweed Salad)
- Edamame
FAQ
Sorry to break it to you, but if you’ve been eating seaweed salad because you thought it was healthy, I have news for you. That neon green color that many seaweed salads have is not the natural color of seaweed; it’s food coloring. Places that serve this kind of salad also usually buy it in tubs pre-seasoned, which also means it’s probably loaded with corn syrup and MSG. The good news is that by making it at home, you can get all the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and prebiotics naturally contained in seaweed without all of the extra stuff that gets added in commercial seaweed salad.
Japanese grocery stores should carry bags of seaweed salad mix, specifically for making a salad. If you don’t have a Japanese grocery store nearby, try searching the web or online retailers such as Amazon.
Units
Ingredients
For Salad
- 20 grams dry mixed seaweed
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 scallion (finely chopped)
Seaweed Salad Dressing
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon evaporated cane sugar
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ginger juice
Instructions
- Put the seaweed in a bowl and cover with cold water. Let this rehydrate for 7 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients together until the sugar and salt are completely dissolved.
- When the seaweed has rehydrated, pour the seaweed into a colander and then rinse it thoroughly.
- Use your hands to gather up the seaweed and then squeeze as much water out of it as you can.
- Add the rehydrated seaweed to the bowl with the dressing and then add the sesame seeds and scallions. Toss to coat evenly and adjust the seasonings to taste.
Nutrition
Ichi Tokyo says
Thank you! It means a lot to me.
Ildiko says
I using wakame for the seaweed salads. my problem is soaking more than 10 min.
the wakame is still very hard.
Shall I cook in the micro w. to soften it?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Ildiko, are you using dried wake or salted? and if it’s dried, does it come in small pieces or long strands? If it’s the later it’s possible the wakame still has the stems attached in which case you need to trim them off. The stems can still be eaten, but they need to be thinly sliced. The frilly leaf parts of the wakame should rehydrate in a matter of minutes. You could try blanching it quickly, but wakame turns mushy very quickly when cooked (that’s why it’s added to miso soup at the very end) so I don’t recommend cooking it. The last possibility is that whatever you have was mislabeled and is actually some other type of seaweed such as konbu. I hope that helps.
Ildiko says
Hello, I did buy it in an Asian market. It was a long wet strand, very hard.
I will try to soften in the micro with a couple of mins. I was eaten in restaurant, it looked like mine long dark stems, but much soft tham my.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Ildiko, if it wasn’t a Japanese market it could very well be mislabeled, as what you’re describing does not sound like wakame. Wakame is usually either dried (https://anshin.pref.tokushima.jp/docs/2015081100493/files/IMG_3358.JPG) or salted (https://ws-plan.com/img5/siokurawakame1.jpg). In either case you should be able to just wash and rehydrate/desalt it by soaking it in water for a few minutes. Here’s what it should look like when rehydrated: https://image.rakuten.co.jp/fukahirehonpo/cabinet/harada2/cbrk51.jpg It should be a dark green color, frilly and about the thickness of a sheet of paper. One possibility is you got kukiwakame (https://img15.shop-pro.jp/PA01242/827/product/134697503.png) which is the thick stem part of the wakame and needs to be sliced into very thin strips to be edible as it is very tough. Another possibility is that you have konbu (https://img21.shop-pro.jp/PA01326/758/product/92056220.jpg), which is kelp. Konbu I is not usually eaten raw, and would also need to be cut very thin to be edible.
David says
This is a keeper. I used the Emerald Cove Wakame, which is ready to use. Soaked, rinsed, drained and marinated it. Yum! Thank you so much. I can get about 2 salads out of 1 bag. It’s available on Amazon for $4
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi David, I’m glad to hear it! Thanks for suggesting a brand that’s available in the US.
Marjorie Printz says
Does seaweed salad help with arthritus?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Marjorie, I am not a health expert so I’m not really qualified to answer that. What I can say is that most seaweed is a good source of minerals, including Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, and Calcium.
cat dillon says
Thank you!! Loved this simple video! I LOVE JAPANESE FOOD especially sushi and Izakaya 😉
Marc Matsumoto says
You’re welcome Cat, hope you give this a try!
Phyllis says
So grateful for this recipe … I’ve been hunting for this dressing for some time as it is commonly used in Japanese restaurants and making my own seaweed salad at home has always been a goal since I enjoy it at restaurants, but the last recipe I tried was a fail. This one is perfect. Domo arigatou!
Marc Matsumoto says
You’re welcome Phyllis, I’m glad to hear you enjoyed this!
Ekaterina says
Can I use Korean salted seaweed stem for that recipe?
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Ekaterina, it won’t have much variety in taste or texture if you use just 1 type of seaweed, but as long as you desalt it first, it will work.
LynGH says
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I have looked for it thinking the ‘real’ thing was that green stuff in the restaurant and grocery store.
Your recipe and instructions are perfect.
Marc Matsumoto says
You’re welcome!
Marie Wise-Miu says
Thank you for a wonderful recipe! I use thin strips of wakame, but it’s all very dark. I’d love to mix up the varieties, but in the only Asian store for 50km sells exclusively this and kelp. Do you know of the mixed dry seaweed you mentioned, maybe on Amazon? I live in France now, but I can order things to be shipped here. Thanks for your help.
Marie
Marc Matsumoto says
You’re welcome Marie! Amazon in the US carries it, but I’m not sure about in France. Only one way to find out 😉
Carol Cuevas says
Sounds perfect.
Can I use demerara or turbanado sugar in place of evaporated sugar? I live in a rural area and cannot find evaporated sugar.
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Carol, turbanado is closest in taste, but it tends to come in large crystals, so you might have a hard time getting it to dissolve. Dermerara is going to taste too strongly of molasses. You can also just use regular white granulated sugar.