Superfoods - Wakame Seaweed

The benefits of the sea are infinite and Algae is among its greatest gifts

Algae are an essential part of the balance of the seabed and also produce most of our oxygen

The sea is a place where you can breathe, but in addition to all this seaweed is a superfood that you can make part of your diet

Wakame seaweed It is the one that I am going to tell you about today, it is native to the coasts of Japan and Australia, it grows on the seabed It is the one that I am going to tell you about today, it is native to the coasts of Japan and Australia, it grows on the seabed close to the beaches, on rock and they are collected by divers and fishermen

It is made in the wild since it is one of the most invasive species that exist in the world

it has proliferated thanks to naval technology and its expansion, so that it now occurs everywhere, in cold waters with tides, what we call spring tides

And how Wakame looks like? Well, it is an algae of, approximately, one meter long, although, sometimes, it reaches three meters long

It is harvested between winter and summer and it goes through a drying process before being consumed

Where can you buy it? In herbalists or in specialized Japanese food stores

What does wakame bring us? Lots of iodine, protein, large doses of minerals

It really is a food full of novelty and new flavor

Nowadays it is consumed in gastronomy around the world for its texture, its subtle flavor and its easy preparation, it takes only 5 minutes of preparation to have the seaweed ready to eat

Open the doors of your kitchen to sea vegetables and their benefits

Did you know that algae are vegetables? Just as terrestrial vegetables perform the function of photosynthesis but they grow in a humid environment or in water

Did you know that seaweed is consumed in Japan since centuries ago? Did you know that traditional Chinese medicine uses wakame as a blood purifier? It is said that it improves the quality of hair, skin and reproductive organs and regulates menstruation

Well, here I have fresh wakame seaweed with the optimal harvest size, it is quite amazing, really smooth, It has a delicious flavor, I have to say that I like it more fresh than dehydrated and I'm going to tell you a little more

This what you see here is the fixation on the rock but it is not the root, because it has no root and this shape, which is also hard and has a quite funny touch, are the spores by which they reproduce

This alga feeds through the leaves and the leaf is exactly what we eat, although there are people who loves the stem

What else?

The truth is that it is quite similar to when it becomes dehydrated, I mean you put it in

the soup and suddenly it unfolds making a shape very similar to this, It is fabulous to have the seaweed in your hands

They are high in calcium, potassium and magnesium

It has antioxidant properties

It has a high concentration of fibers, reduces cholesterol levels, it has a diuretic effect

Wakame seaweed is one of the most grateful and tasty sea vegetables that exist

It is really easy to prepare and I'm going to tell you the classic Japanese wakame salad recipe, the version that I offer you today is macrobiotics, which is a type of diet related to Asia especially to Japan which promotes taking into account the energy of food, it is quite interesting and it is getting to know something different

and new

This is wakame

The dehydrated wakame looks like this: black, hard

If you put it in water for five minutes, it will be ready to eat, we can take it raw and also cooked with other foods we will see later

Here I already have wakame hydrated, its the texture is soft, after 5 minutes in water, you remove it and get this

Put it aside

What ingredients will you need? Cucumber

Normally, the cucumber is cut into slices, in the macrobiotic version cucumber is macerated in coarse salt

I was going to say oil

anyway, How will you do it? Cut it into thin slices put it on a plate, add layers of coarse salt and then add weight, you can put 5 books or a stack of dishes, whatever you want, for 15 minutes then remove the dishes and you will see a lot of water coming out leaving the cucumber salty What is the intention of this? Well, within macrobiotics, foods are divided into 2: yin sections and yang

Yin is a much more dispersed, volatile light energy, and yang is a heavy energy, of concentration, normally related to the roots or also the meat

Salt is yang and cucumber is yin because it has a lot of water

So what we do is "yanize" or make the cucumber have a more concentrated energy this tips are quite interesting because they can be applied to all foods, you can divide them into yin and yang according to their condition

With these two ingredients

along with walnuts, sesame, lemon and extra virgin olive oil, we prepare the dressing

Add the seaweed, a good bed of seaweed, they are super aromatic and tasty

People who like fish tend to be passionate about seaweed

Empty everything

Try to drain very well when the water is removed add the cucumber, after 15 or 20 minutes of pressing, you can leave it as long as you want, the longer you leave it The more water will be released and it will take on a fairly intense flavor

Remaining slices

here they are

they are really soft, normally cucumber isn't

add them This salad does not need salt because the cucumber is already quite salty

Although wakame seaweed is not salty, it has a lot of iodine, it is a great marine recipe

The light color of the cucumber also contrasts with the dark tone of the alga

For the dressing, lemon

Wooden stick

Break, watch out for the eyes that always jumps to me, I don't know how I manage

And squeeze over the salad

Add the walnuts, if you like them whole is ok, but chop them slightly

It is a very light salad, which is also a perfect starter

What does Wakame bring? Proteins, lots of minerals, enzymes that are very good for health

And we finished with a touch of sesame which is also very decorative and a splash of oil

This oil is delicious and very aromatic, besides having a beautiful colour which adds a contrast of green inside the salad

And here it is

Japanese macrobiotic Wakame salad

Now I'm going to give you a second salad recipe because wakame is perfect to take it raw with vegetables, whether they are also raw or cooked

This recipe is a little more creative, more original

have green leaf, spinach ready

opsss spinach full of properties

Have beetroot prepared and cut into thin strips, avocado, a selection of seeds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, salt and for the dressing: apple vinager, soy sauces, extra virgin olive oil

The make a green leaf bed

The seaweed, as before, you already have it prepared, you have had it in water for 5 minutes, you have removed it and you put it aside

Building a bed spinach, a good portion well spread and add the beet, which brings lots of color, a sweet touch to the salad that contrasts very well with the taste of wakame, a flavor that clearly recalls the sea

Add the wakame

If you look at it against the light, I don't know if the camera really appreciates it, but you can try it at home

It has an intense green color, This is because is an algae with a large amount of chlorophyll, hence a large amount of antioxidants

Antioxidants play a fundamental role in health care and they are considered anticancer, so you know, anticancer wakame

Add it all it stains your fingers a little bit, so you have to clean them

Avocado, cut it as you like, in slices

you can do like a floral drawing, It is a salad with really beautiful colors

Another

one more

and voila

and place the seeds, I have mixed them and scatter

Seeds are great for brain function, so

go ahead, put the seeds all over, to everything

Put aside

Now

the dressing wait

I have to clean my hands again because avocado gets them dirty

a bit

So

the dressing can be made in the same bowl where you had the wakame and use the remaining bits Put a splash of soy sauce, about enough apart from giving it flavor, it is salty

Vinegar, apple cider vinegar you could also use rice vinegar which is pretty sweet

Another bit of vinegar

Good oil

pour it, a little more

and as I have forgotten the spoon, I stir

Mix really fast

Then pour it all over the whole salad, which also has an Asian touch so much for the seaweed as for the soy sauce and here it is

Antioxidant wakame salad

We can also take cooked Wakame I have shown you the loose format which is the most common, but you will also find it in herbalists, which is the place where we usually buy these products, in sheets

If you put this sheet in water, it will be loose, they are pieces of pressed wakame because it is a more practical way of packaging, simply

For this soup, which is a tribute to Japanese cuisine, have chopped onion prepared really small, I really like purple onions because of the color and the aroma it has, Japanese white radish also known as or daikon, shiitakes mushrooms, you can use them fresh or dehydrated like these, and sliced carrots, extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt

Add olive oil to a casserole, a little enough to stir-fry the onion, Give power

Between 7 and 8 depends on the cooker you have and while the oil is heating, I take the wooden pallet, I'll tell you things about wakame seaweed

In general, Algae have minerals including calcium, but wakame in particular is the one that contains calcium the most

If you compare the calcium in dairy products to Wakame, the difference is gigantic

I give you the example: 100 milliliters of milk have approximately 120 mg of calcium, the same amount of wakame has 1300 mg of calcium, is incredible

If you lack this mineral, forget about dairy and start eating seaweed

I think this is ready add the onion

It is stir-fried, on the other hand it must be taken into account that the body has an assimilation capacity, not by taking tons of calcium or any other mineral the body will absorb, it will absorb just what it needs, what you need is a diet rich in all those components so that they are not missing

When you see that the onion is golden brown, add the carrot, so it stars soften

and cut the white radish

You can make it in slices, in squares, in strips, as you like it better in soups

Always watch out for your fingers, and add them to everything that is being stir-fried

Be careful that the fire is not high so that it does not get burnt Stir

Time to add water

The water depends on the amount of soup you want to make

And now add the shiitakes, the shiitake are usually hydrated first, put in a bowl warm or even hot water and leave for 15 or 20 even 30 minutes, as we are going to cook for a long time you can put them directly dehydrated, the hydration process will happen during cooking

Finally add the wakame, just split it in two, four pieces, depends on the size of the pot And now raise the fire a little

Letting the soup cook for 20 or 30 minutes

Another peculiarity of the wakame is when you cook it with other foods it has the property of softening fibers, especially legumes

This is a recipe for a soup, but you could make lentils with it, chickpeas

combines really well with chickpeas, beans, whatever you want

What will it do? it will speed up the cooking time, probably if the chickpeas are cooking about 45 minutes, in half an hour you will have them ready, You'll love it

Wait a little while and now we have the soup made

After about 20 minutes you have also added salt, you can do it again once you taste it

I've already put out the fire this is a delicious and nutritious soup

it's practically ready and I'm going to show it, here

the pieces of seaweed Perfect for cold winter days, this is a dead-awaker

After this little trip through the sea and Asian cuisine, we review the three recipes that we have made today: A delicious wakame salad with avocado, a colored salad with seeds, delicious for dinner, for a first course, whatever you want

a delicious winter wakame soup with shiitake mushrooms, Japanese soup

Japanese cucumber and wakame salad

Much better than what you will find in Japanese restaurants, I have to say that

So you already know, open your mind and start including sea vegetables in your diet and in your life because they are only going to bring you good things