Fresh Seaweed Noodles Sashimi Salad Recipe

Fresh Seaweed

Fresh seaweed

It is getting increasingly available. You will be as pleased as I am to see that , in many supermarkets and in sushi restaurants, fresh seaweed turns up more often. It is true I haven’t seen fresh seaweed in any form other than salad, in other words, prepared, but the salad is natural and its components do not encroach on the preparation of a larger recipe, like the following dish. I know the seaweed bears a pesky resemblance to astroturf, but once you toss it into the other ingredients its garish greenness disperses and the color and flavor of the finished dish are deliciously funky. The miso imparts its fermented flavor, which works beautifully with all other flavors in the dish.

Do You Love Asian Flavors?

If you are a sucker for Asian Flavors, as I am, then this fresh seaweed pasta dish is for you. And so easy. The only thing you need to cook is the pasta. Everything else just gets thrown in, it’s the best. If you decide to make a complete meal out of it, toss in a pound of crumbled mock crab (kani). I only use spelt noodles, as I am a huge fan of the low gluten wonder grain, and I find them much more digestible but no less delicious than wheat noodles.

Attention gluten-free friends, this is for you too!

Just use your favorite gluten-free noodles, prepared according to manufacturer’s instructions, and keep going! This fresh seaweed dish is delicious at room temperature too, so do not hesitate to make it on shabbos. Everything can be prepared before shabbos, and it takes no time to assemble. Enjoy any leftovers the next day and even a couple days later.

Scroll down for Sashimi Salad Variation, with mock crab (kani) added.

Ingredients

5-6 sprigs cilantro, tough stems removed
2 inch piece fresh ginger
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup toasted sesame oil
2-3 tablespoons bottled hot sauce
2 tablespoons wasabi powder
1/3 cup miso paste, any kind
11/4 cups sake (liquor stores)
1 pound spelt noodles, or noodles of your choice including gluten-free, cooked according to manufacturer's instructions
2 cups fresh seaweed salad
1 bunch scallions, sliced very thin
1/2 cup toasted chopped peanuts, optional

Instructions

In a food processor, finely grind the cilantro, ginger and garlic. Add the sesame oil, hot sauce and wasabi, and process again.

Heat the miso and sake (microwave OK) just until hot, whisking to blend the mixture.

Toss the noodles with the ground mixture, the sake mixture, the seaweed salad and the scallions. Sprinkle with the peanuts, if using, just before serving.

Seaweed Sashimi Salad. Pictured above

Skip the noodles, sake and miso. Add 1 pound mock crab (also called Kani), flaked, or fresh tuna, very thinly sliced. Proceed as above.

Yield: Makes 8 ample servings.