food

Japanese seaweed: The superfood you can find everywhere

9 Comments
By Emi Schemmer

Since ancient times, the Japanese people have used sea plants in a variety of ways in their lives ranging from food sources, dietary supplements, plant fertilizers and medical treatments. Pastes made from seaweed were once used to heal burns, as it was believed it prevented bacterial infections and soothed the skin, a practice that in modern times is continued through the use of facemasks and seaweed-rich serums.

Seaweeds are also a staple of the Japanese diet, an essential attribute to your miso soup, onigiri, sushi, salads and nori bento — among many more. Thanks to its numerous health and beauty benefits, widespread availability and cheap cost, Japanese seaweed has become a globally recognized staple food and beauty ingredient which we can easily incorporate into our lives. But before you rush to the supermarket, read on to learn more about the different types of kaiso, their benefits and ways to use them in your daily life. Here are the key players! 

Nori (海苔)

nori.jpg

Nori is the most familiar of all seaweed and although it looks green, it is actually a type of red algae that when dried out or roasted, takes on it almost black appearance. In its most common form (think of onigiri), nori comes as roasted sheets.

With quite the impressive nutritional profile, nori is loaded with iodine, potassium, vitamin B12, and is low in calories making it a healthy snack between meals. Iodine is a mineral that is essential for your metabolism and helps the thyroid gland to function properly. Consuming one sheet of roasted nori paper will give you about half of the daily recommended intake of iodine along with about 1.2 mg vitamin B12 – an essential vitamin that supports normal functioning of the brain, nervous system as well as helps to form red blood cells. 

Best way to eat it: Wrapped around your maki-zushi, onigiri or onigirazu, in miso soup, Gohan desu yo paste. For snacks, try Niko Niko Nori’s Coconut Nori-Sand (¥300). Simply wrap a nori sheet around your rice ball or onigiri-sandwich, or add dried nori when boiling miso soup. Gohan desu yo paste is available at any supermarkets in Japan. You can top it on your rice or even toast!

Click here to read more.

© Savvy Tokyo

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

9 Comments
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I love the red one, funori, but it's either difficult to find and/or expensive.

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I read a report that said Korean seaweed was suppose to be the healthiest in Asia. It was superior to Japanese seaweed.

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No such thing as a 'superfood', anyone qualified in dietetics will tell you. Meaningless marketing speak.

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Japanese seaweed: The superfood you can find everywhere

The fact that you can find it anywhere means it is not Japanese, right? Sea plants have been a staple food throughout Asia and coastal areas of Europe for millennia. It's about as uniquely Japanese as the TV and the automobile. They didn't invent it, just exploited someone else's idea.

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On a hike in the Yosemite Sierras a few years ago a black bear stole all my food but he left me a package of seaweed and that saved me from starvation on the 20 mile hike back to my car.

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An article about “superfood” that features recommended beauty products. Hmmmm.

I read it quickly and may have missed it but did the article mention there are both farmed and wild varieties available for seaweed? I like most all types, eaten in a variety of ways, with the exception of mozuku, which I just haven’t been able to develop a taste for, although I know many people who love it and eat it every day. There are many more local or seasonal varieties not mentioned in the article so those interested should check out the local markets, talk to the older folks etc to discover them.

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