RISING TIDE

Surging back onto trendy ingredients lists, seaweed’s many forms add depth of flavour and a whiff of the sea to our tables.

Nori

Nori is a fast-growing algae farmed in waters all over Japan. It’s shredded, pressed and dried into paper-thin sheets used mostly for sushi. Cut into thin strips, kizami nori is sprinkled over noodles and rice, and in Korea, nori is roasted with sesame oil and salt for a popular snack.

Dulse

Native to the northern coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific, this reddish-purple seaweed is prized for its bacon-like flavour. Dried, it’s eaten out of hand as a snack in Nova Scotia, and in Ireland it’s baked into soda bread. Try mixing dulse flakes into compound butter for grilled seafood.

Kombu

Kombu is a type of kelp sold in dried rectangles that look like wrinkled green paper. It is primarily used to flavour dashi, the basic stock of Japanese cuisine. In 1908, a scientist discovered umami when he figured out that kombu is rich in glutamic acid, the compound responsible for the savoury fifth taste.

Arame

Arame is a type of kelp found mostly in the waters around Japan. It’s sold dried in thin brown strands and only takes minutes to rehydrate. Arame’s mild flavour and toothsome texture make it a natural in vegetable or noodle salads.

Wakame

Popular in soups and salads, wakame fronds have a sweet flavour and a tender, slippery texture similar to wilted spinach. The ubiquitous seaweed salad served at sushi restaurants is made from wakame stems and branches, though the verdant fluorescence comes from food dye.