Recipe of chuka wakame wanted!

Can anyone help me with the recipe of chuka wakama? The a bit crispy, bit spicey salad? I eat it sometimes in restaurants here in Holland and I like it very much. But I do not know what the ingredients are or where to buy the complete stuff. (I do not mean the wakame used in misosoup!)

If you can give me a recipe, I am very greatful!

bs

By 'bs'? I do not understand.

Hi Trudy - Can you be a little more descriptive? I always consider "Chuka Wakame" to simply mean marinated wakame ( seaweed ). Usually ( not always ) it is a combination of different types of seaweed. But. You also said "crispy". Chuka is also commonly referring to a type of noodle ( usually soba ) that can be crisp fried and added to salads. The more common ( in Japan ) is simple marinated wakame with sesame seeds added. Of course you can add what you wish and there are many variations. Is what you eat a little bit sweet? If so it is probablt the simple marinate of rice wine vinegar, sugar and shoyu. You might ask the place you eat it at what the recipe is or maybe ( if traditional ) the Japanese name of the salad, though it may actually be chinese in origin, especially if with fried noodles. I hope this helps.

HI Steve,

I cannot really explain it in words but I try: the salad I mean is not soft and weak like the wakame in soup, it is like sliced green beans. There is absolutely some dressing on it and some Spanish pepper, because there is a little hot flavour. Maybe the best way to show is this picture:
http://luvsushi.com/kotobuki/Kotobuki%20Wakame%20Salad.JPG

Can you help?

Hi Trudy. Of course I can find and buy Seaweed in Japan that is similar to your description, but as the restaurant you mention uses a generic name ( Chuka Wakame ), I am afraid I can not venture a guess as to the recipe. I did a quick search to see if there might be a book that might help and the page listed below might be of interest to you. Unfortunately, most recipes I know or can find on the web would have a very different flavour then what you describe, though I have eaten a lot of spicy wakame salads and dishes. Unless someone else on this forum might have suggestions, I wish you luck. Sorry I could not be more help.

http://www.goodcooking.com/ckbookrv/vegsea/sea_rev.htm

If I'm not totally mistaken, I think this "Chuka wakame" is a proper noun/brand name for a type of prepared and seasoned ready-to-eat food, and even in Japan we buy it in a package. I think it is prepared from stems of "wakame" or some other seaweed (that's why it's crunchy), and it definitely uses soy sauce, sesame oil and a bit of spice in the dressing. But I would not know how to prepare it myself....

AK, I think you are right when you say that is a ready-to-eat thing, bevause I ate it in 4 different restaurants here in the Netherlands and they all taste exactly the same (but delicious). If you - or anyone else - does not know how to make it yourself, can you help me we the brand / manifacturor name? Maybe I can buy it somewhere in a shop here in Holland if I know more details. There are a few retailers of Japanese food here, one of them is Yama Food (of the Okura chain).

Another possibility, though remote, is that it is this one.... called "yama kurage," another prepared and seasoned ready-to-eat stuff. Today when I went to the supermarket (I live in Tokyo) I was looking around the pickled and seasoned veggie and other ready-to-eat stuff to see if I can spot any package with "chuka wakame" and found this name instead. The vegetable used in this is called "mountain jelly vegetable," and is a lettuce-like leafy vegetable from China, which is again quite crunchy. This veggie seasoned and sold in packs can look like this (just to show you a photo):

http://www.jin.ne.jp/kyotinmi/html/y-kura.html

In any case, if you know a Japanese grocery store, I guess you could go and try asking if they know those. :)

Thanks for looking and for the link but the pictures do not look like what I mean. Maybe I will go to one of the restaurants I have been before just to ask if they can give me the name of the stuff. I once asked what it was but the - Chinese! - staff of that restaurant only knew 'it is seaweed'. That I already knew!

Hey, I've been having the same problem as you. "Chuka wakame," "seaweed salad,"or whatever you like to call it seems to be a secret recipe! I've been collecting info all over, but haven't found anything that sounds identical yet. Here's what I can tell you: The hot spice which can actually be seen as small red pieces in some salads is chilli. If you can't get it fresh, you should be able to get it powdered, or possibly in a sauce or oil form. Other than the wakame, there is usually a second seaweed, agar. It is clear in color. These two are marinated. Here, I run out of certain information. I believe though that that marinade is a combination of rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and possibly sake/rice wine (although this is possibly used instead of rice vinegar rather than with it). And then of course there are the sesame seeds, which are usually lightly toasted. I am going to be experimenting with this recipe in the near future. I'll let you know how it works out. Let me know if you beat me to it! Good luck! :)

I am a japanese. and i have never seen being sold yamakurage before cooked. ordinary japanese cannot cook it. i think it is from china. 'chuka' means chinese. sesame oil is also used in chinese dishes.
http://www.e-recipe.org/features/kanbutu/04.html

I 've also searched for this recipe and the right seaweeds in Asian markets.The clear gelatinous kind is agar-agar which I bought in a block,cut it into strips and soaked it. I don't recall which dried green seaweeds I've tried, but I believe I had to soak it for it to turn bright green , and then cut it into thin strips. The dressing is as others suggested, rice vinegar (seasoned) dried red chili pepper flakes,sesame oil, sesame seeds and perhaps soy sauce(shoyu) I did locate a product on-line at www.markys.com ( or Markyscaviar) listed as "Seaweed Salad-USA" that looks and sounds like what we are all craving! If anyone buys and tries it ,please let us know.

Hi everyone,
Those posts were really informative. I'm in Canada (in Southern Ontario) and I was wondering if anyone knew where I could buy wakame salad in bulk, or even dried wakame and dried agar in bulk. (or fresh, that would be even better)

I also wanted to know if anyone knew what type of seaweed it is that they make into thin dried seasoned strips and sell as snacks?

Mmmm seaweed....... :)

Hi- I've tried alot of seaweeds, none are the strandy type in those salads. Only one that comes a little close is seaweed strands from koamart- but it's not as thin as ones in the resturant salads and it's packed in salt, so you have to rinse/soak for a very long time. Maybe if there's a dried version of this it would be better.

http://www.koamart.com/images/products/2086_enlarged.gif

It sounds like you're describing the same "seaweed salad" which is ubiquitous in japanese restaraunt in America. I love the stuff and would love to know how to either make it or buy it in bulk. I found this topic searching for information about it myself, ans just came back from searching for it.

It seems to cost the same whether you order it as an appetizer in a restaraunt or in the market. I found some in a Japanese market where I thought it might be cheaper or available in larger quanitym but it was in even smaller a size for the same price. So I bought some at the large american chain supermarket instead. The package lists the ingredients:

seaweed (amazing they can just say "seaweed" and don't have to be more specific, no?), agar agar, sesame oil, chili, sesame seeds, jelly fish, red pepper, FD&D yellow #5 (tartrazine), Blue #1 (brillian blue, FCF), citric acid, guar gum

I never would have guessed there was jelly fish in this, and really cannot tell what part of it this is (the clear, ragged-edged strands?). Besides the clear strands, there are at least 2 types of green (different kinds of seaweed?) and a small amount a black. Because there is dye in this, it makes it hard to tell what kind of seaweed in the store it might be.

Hi

Bewildering, i am also searching the net for this illusive seaweed. I ate it at the Hilton resort in the maldives on my honeymoon and also in on holiday in LA. Asking both what it was called, they simply say seaweed. How annoying. Its like the secret recipe of Coca Cola or Cadburrys. Eagerly waiting the answer. You must be able to buy the seaweed pre-packed as one of your writers suggests, its the same each time i purchase it.

Answers greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Caroline

I think I've found what you're looking for. I LOVE that salad and get it at Japanese restaurants often. I think this is the recipe:
http://www.straitscafe.com/recipes/208.htm

(Mirin is sweet rice wine)
(Dashi is some sort of kombu stock)
I'd add crushed dried red pepper and a few sesame seeds to the recipe.

And you can buy Wakame seaweed here:
http://www.kgrocer.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1308

I've also seen called Hyashi Wakame Seaweed

Also you can purchse it here:

http://www.edenfoods.com/store/product_info.php?products_id

I have also been searching for a "from scratch" recipe for this wonderful salad. I asked a Japanese chef friend of mine and he said he thought it was "ogo" that I was talking about. I haven't bought any yet, but I hope this helps...