Seaweed

Seaweed

Seaweed is one of the most common items that Japanese people eat with every meal. “Nori,” or thin dried sheets of seaweed, used for wrapping sushi rolls, is quite well known even among those who may be otherwise unfamiliar with Japanese food. There are a wide variety of edible seaweeds. It comes in different colors, sizes, tastes and textures. Examples of commonly eaten seaweed in Japan include wakame, nori, hijiki, kombu, mozuku, and mekabu. Wakame is often used as a topping for salads or tofu (soybean curd), or put into miso soup. Nori, on the other hand, is commonly used for wrapping sushi, onigiri (rice balls), and senbei (rice crackers). Kombu is indispensable for making “dashi-jiru,” or Japanese soup stock. Moreover, at grocery stores carrying Japanese food, you can find various jars and plastic packages of preserved “ tsukudani” (the various ingredients usually include kombu or nori).