Creative Cooking with Sea Vegetables

by Leslie Cerier

I remember my first taste of sushi in Boulder, Colorado, summer of 1978. There I was studying voice, dance, arts in education and theater at the Naropa Institute. New friends invited me for lunch. They served rice and vegetables wrapped in toasted nori with a spicy wasabi dip. As they spoke about their macrobiotic diet, I fell in love with my first taste of seaweed.

From that day on, I have enjoyed cooking and eating sea vegetables. First, I cooked with the Japanese seaweeds, and made miso soups with wakame, sushi with toasted nori sheets, Asian cabbage salads with arame and sweet sautés with hiziki, parsnips and carrots. Then I discovered California’s silky sea palm and ocean ribbons kombu, and Washington’s kelp pieces that taste like potato chips. Through the grape vine, I learned about Maine’s seaweeds: dulse, kelp, alaria, digitata kombu and laver, also known as wild nori. Like herbs, I love to stock them all. You never know when the mood will strike for a quick munch of dulse or a sweet onion soup with alaria and croutons.

Versatile, dependable, and easy to use year round, sea vegetables are tasty perennial herbs from the ocean. Sea vegetables are good sources of fiber, have some protein, and are loaded with vitamins and minerals: calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, phosphorous, sodium, iodine, manganese, copper, chromium, fluoride, zinc, Vitamin A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, C and E. Diets rich in sea vegetables have been linked to preventing and healing cancer, heart disease, fighting radiation poisoning, and natural hair and skin care.

Like fruit, they are available dried and come in many shapes, textures and flavors. Arame, hiziki and sea palm are noodle like in texture and appearance. Think of arame like angel hair pasta, hiziki as spaghetti, and sea palm, the fettuccini.

You can cook leafy kelp, dulse, and various kombus with beans to aid their digestion. Long simmering kelp and dulse will dissolve in soups, stews, and thick rich flavored sauces.

Unlike salt, you can cook beans with a sea vegetable right from the start. Sea veggies have a tenderizing effect. Their natural sodium content makes sea vegetable dishes quite tasty without much added salt.

• Ginger-Arame Salad
• Japanese Sea Vegetable and Noodle Salad
• Hiziki with Shiitake Mushrooms and Butternut Squash

Ginger-Arame Salad

Serves: 4

Tofu, garlic, and ginger bring a taste of Asia to this quick and easy salad.

• 1/2 cup dried arame
• 8 ounces firm tofu, diced
• 3 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
• 1 cup diced celery
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon unsulfured molasses or honey
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro, optional

Place arame in the bottom of a large mixing bowl. Layer the tofu on top followed by layers of cabbage and celery (the water from the tofu will hydrate the arame). Set aside.

Place the garlic and ginger in a blender. Add the tamari, sesame oil, and molasses, and purée until smooth. Adjust the seasonings, if desired. Combine the dressing with the arame-vegetable mixture. Garnish with cilantro, and serve.

Japanese Sea Vegetable and Noodle Salad

Serves: 8
From Going Wild in the Kitchen

The colorful contrast of the carrots and parsley against the black arame and white noodles gives this Asian-style salad its remarkable beauty. It is also rich in calcium and quick to make.

• 1 cup dried arame
• 4 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
• 4 cups coarsely chopped parsley
• 1 1/2 cups julienned carrots
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped lovage leaves or celery
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped chives, including blossoms
• 5.3-ounce package bifun noodles, or 3 cups cooked udon noodles
• 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons umeboshi vinegar
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 6 ounces baked or smoked tofu, cut into 1-inch cubes

In a large bowl, cover the arame with water and soak for five to seven minutes, or until tender. Drain and return to the bowl. Discard the soaking water or save it for soup stock or use to water plants.

Add the cabbage, parsley, carrots, lovage, and chives to the arame. Mix gently and set aside.

Cook the noodles according to package directions, rinse in cold water, and drain.

Add the noodles to the vegetables along with the oil, umeboshi vinegar, and rice vinegar. Toss well. Adjust the seasonings, if desired.

Garnish with tofu and serve.

For a change…

• Replace bifun or udon noodles with soba noodles or angel hair pasta.

• Instead of green cabbage, use snow peas, snap peas, or a combination of red and green cabbage. Steamed vegetables, such as beets, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, and green beans are other good choices.

Hiziki with Shiitake Mushrooms and Butternut Squash

Serves: 4 to 6

This savory stew can restore the weary and energize those who are feeling fine. Garlic, hiziki, and shiitake mushrooms are renowned for their immune-enhancing properties. Sweet butternut squash fills the pot with the delicious taste of autumn. Serve over rice, quinoa, or noodles.

• 12-ounce package seitan
• 2 cups dried hiziki
• 3 cups water
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, thickly sliced
• 1 cup coarsely chopped onions
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped fresh shiitake mushroom caps
• 3 1/2 cups butternut squash, cut into cubes
• 1 tablespoon dried nettles, optional
• 2 tablespoons mirin

Reserving the liquid, cut the seitan into one-inch cubes and set aside. Cover the hiziki with two cups of the water and soak ten minutes, or until tender and triple in size.

While the hiziki is soaking, heat the oil in a six-quart stockpot over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions, and sauté five minutes, or until onions begin to soften.

Add the hiziki and soaking water to the pot along with the remaining ingredients, including the reserved seitan liquid. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer covered for twenty minutes, or until the squash is tender. Add more water as needed.

Adjust the seasonings, if desired, and serve hot.

For a change…

• Substitute tofu or tempeh for the seitan.

• Add a tablespoon of grated ginger, and sauté along with the onion and garlic.

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Recipes adapted from Going Wild in the Kitchen by Leslie Cerier, published by Square One Publishers, 2005.

Leslie Cerier is a gourmet organic caterer, cooking instructor, nutritional expert, advocate for sustainable agriculture, and award-winning photographer. She is the author of Going Wild in the Kitchen, The Quick and Easy Organic Gourmet and coauthor of Sea Vegetable Celebration. A pioneer and national authority on wheat-free baking, cooking with wild foods and whole grains, Ms. Cerier has developed recipes for organic food companies and published dozens of articles on vegetarian cooking, nutrition, and organic lifestyle. She resides in western Massachusetts. You can visit her website at www.lesliecerier.com.