Wakame
Wakamé
| Latin name | Undaria pinnatifida |
|---|---|
| Family | Seaweed |
| Origin | Cold coastal waters of Japan and Korea |
| Season (France) | February – May |
| Flavour | Marine · Briny · Delicate |
| Typical price (France) | 45–90 €/kg |
What it is
Wakame travels the world in ballast water and on hulls; it sits on the register of the hundred worst invasive species and has taken hold from the Venice lagoon to Tasmania. In Brittany, where it arrived uninvited, it is now grown deliberately on ropes.
In the kitchen
Dried, it swells six to ten times, so a tablespoon feeds two bowls of soup, and two minutes in cold water is enough — longer leaves it slack. Add it to miso soup off the heat: boiling pulls out the slime and turns it grey.
Goes with
Cucumber Miso Rice vinegar Sesame Silken tofu (kinugoshi) Ginger
Same species
Also used with
In season alongside
Clam Surf clam Mantis shrimp Mozuku Oyster Oyster leaf
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