Wakame

In Japanese, “wakame” refers to several species of edible brown or green seaweed (from the kelp family, for those who know) that are native to Asia, although they are now found almost everywhere, especially in Europe, where they were introduced in the 1970s.

Visually, it’s hard to get much more “seaweedy,” in the sense that wakame appears as tangled translucent hairs that encompass every shade of green, right down to the fluorescent hue on the plate. The texture is crunchy and the flavor is delicate: iodized salty marine notes reminiscent of oysters.

Available fresh or dried, wakame can be eaten as is or ground into powder and used in the formulation of dietary supplements. Wakame has many well-known properties: a source of minerals, vitamins and carotenoids, it is recommended for slimming as it acts as a fat burner.

This may well explain the growing demand for it in recent years, to the point where it is now cultivated as far away as France, on the coast of Brittany or near the Etang de Thau in the Mediterranean.

Uses

Used as a flavor enhancer in soups (miso), sauces, and stews, wakame can also be eaten in salads, as an addition to lamb’s lettuce, and as an iodized kick to raw vegetables. Reduced to flakes, it can replace salt (whose consumption should be limited) or be sprinkled on a vegetable gratin, squid just out of the pan, or grilled fish.