Seaweed, samphire, carrot, apple, sesame salad

The worst seaweed salad I remember eating was on my second visit to New York five years ago, it was a selection of seaweed like this only undressed.   I don’t care how healthy and good it’s suppose to be for me you can not make me eat wet undressed seaweed.  I have eaten seaweed salad when having sushi here, dressed usually with a mirin, soy and sesame, and when it’s like that I get it and love it.

This salad is as much about texture with the raw carrot and apple, as flavour of salty, sweet and a little heat if you feel up to it.  The sesame seeds have a major role here adding their sweet nuttiness to the orchestra and unless you hate them I wouldn’t skip it, but if you  do, then replace them with toasted sunflower seeds.

This selection of seaweed I can buy in my local health food shop, it’s not cheap but for this salad in the pack there’s enough for three servings.

When you hydrate them there’s a very strong smell which if you’re not use to can be off putting.  This smell evokes memories for me, kid, summer holidays, Portugal, Atlantic, cold water, seaweed washed up on the sand drying smelling.  Once  they’re hydrated they taste much milder and not like it smells.  Not dissimilar to dried porcini or shiitake.

There’s four different types of seaweed.

Below left is agar, the very same seaweed we can buy as agar agar which can replace gelatine in setting foods.

One generous 1/3 cup hydrates

into a good serving.

Nori seaweed is easily available everywhere, I can buy it in all the supermarkets around me.

This nori seaweed packs I discovered when visiting Asda, it comes in three small individual packets making it ideal for one serving like this salad or snacking.  If you notice I only have two of the packets to photograph because the third was eaten as soon as it was opened.

If you like sushi rolls these little snack size nori sheets are so morish.

The sesame seeds add an important flavour in this salad, a touch of sweet nuttiness.

They must be toasted.  Heat in the dry pan on a low heat.

When they start to turn a golden colour move them around the pan by swishing the pan or if they start to stick to the pan..

..use a spoon to move them in the heat to gain a good all-round colour.  It doesn’t take long, a minute or two.  They will carry on toasting off the heat with the heat residue from the pan.

Put them aside to cool.

I also found samphire in the Asda near me as well as the snack nori sheets.

To cook, bring a pan of water to the boil

Add the samphire, bring to the boil and cook them for 1 minute.

Drain it and run cold water over them to maintain their colour.

Mix soy sauce, mirin, sugar and heat in a pan or microwave..

..until the sugar has dissolved.

Off the heat add vegetable or olive oil, I used extra virgin olive oil.  Don’t skip the oil, it rounds off balancing the dressing, if you’re watching fat even half a tablespoon will make a difference.

Add the dressing to the seaweed and samphire along with the sesame seeds.

Grate a carrot finely.

Cut an apple into matchstick size

Add the carrot, apple and chill if using to the salad.

Just before serving snip the nori into little pieces.

And add them to the salad.

Seaweed, samphire, carrot, apple, sesame salad

Serves 2 small portions

Use this recipe as a base for your own version.  The sugar which normally I avoid in marinades in Japanese cooking is necessary here because it balances the natural saltiness of the seaweed and samphire.

• 1/3 cup of dry mixed seaweed salad
• 1 – 1 1/2 sheet of toasted nori seaweed
• 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
• 40g /  1/2 cup of samphire (optional)
• 1 tablespoon Japanese or light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 2 teaspoons sugar (light muscovado if you have it)
• 1/2 – 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
• 1 medium carrot, grate finely
• 1 apple cut into thin matchsticks
• 1 mild chili finely chopped, or few drops of tabasco or the Japanese 7 spice pepper, shichimi  (optional)

Put the mixed seaweed salad in a bowl and cover it generously with hot water, use boiled kettle water but wait until it’s cooled for a couple of minutes before pouring over the seaweed.  Let the seaweed hydrated for 10 minutes.  Drain.

In the meantime toast the sesame seeds in a pan until they begin to turn shades of golden colour, take the pan off the heat and keep stirring them as the heat from the pan will carry on toasting them.  Put them in a dish.

Bring a pan of water to the boil and throw in the samphire, boil for one minute and drain.  Run cold water over the samphire to keep its colour.

To make the dressing, in a pan add soy sauce, mirin, sugar and water until the sugar dissolves you can do it in microwave.  Add the oil.

Mix the drained seaweed and samphire together, add the dressing and mix well.  Add the carrot and apple and sesame seeds and chili or pepper.  Just before serving top it with the nori cut into little pieces with scissors.

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