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Wednesday 28 November 2012

Cold Seaweed Pasta Salad






A couple of months ago, hubby had to do a lightning trip to Sabah, East Malaysia and came home bearing two huge packets of this...







Can you guess what it is?

Pork floss? Chicken floss?



Let me give you some hints.

It needs to be soaked for 3-4 hours, and once soaked it will expand EXPONENTIALLY.

Sorry, no prizes for guessing this right, its already in the title of the post.  Yup, it is seaweed.  Sabah yellow seaweed, to be exact.

According to hubby's aunty, this is widely sought after for its rich collagen and calcium properties.  The Taiwanese come in droves to buy these stuff.  It is supposedly much better than bird nest...  I'm not sure about that, but it is certainly miles cheaper.




It is ready for consumption after soaking for 4 hours.  It can be eaten raw and is completely tasteless.  Because of this, it is popularly made into a salad or tossed into the blender with fruits to make fruit juice. 




Take a very small handful and soak in clean tap water for 3-4 hours, rinsing and changing water at least 3 times.  By the 4th hour, the seaweed should be clean, fully expanded, and has no briny or fishy taste.  To check whether it is ready for consumption, break off a small piece and bite it.  It should be mildly crunchy and completely tasteless.  Do not soak or rinse it anymore, or else it would start to turn mushy.  




Cold Seaweed Pasta Salad






  • 50g angel hair pasta
  • 100g seaweed, soaked and rinsed weight (a small handful of dried seaweed)
  • 1/4 green capsicum, diagonally sliced
  • 5 cherry tomatoes
  • 1/3 japanese cucumber, diagonally sliced
  • 1 tbspn toasted sesame seed
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 3 tsp sugar
  • 2 tsp distilled white vinegar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice or lime juice
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • Some shredded nori sheets

1.  Cooked the pasta until al dente.  Drain in a colander and rinse with clean cool water until the pasta is fully cooled down.  Drizzle with some olive oil and coat evenly.  Set aside.

2.  Using a small food scissors, trim the seaweed into 1.5inch in length.  For the thicker stems, trim it into thinner strips.

3.  Assemble all the ingredients (except the seasonings) in a big glass bowl and chill in the fridge for about 30min. 

4.  Mix all the seasonings together and toss with the salad ingredients.  Adjust the taste and serve cold.







20 comments:

  1. Esther, I love this salad! Asian style sesame based salads are so refreshing. I wonder if these dried seaweeds are available here in the peninsula. I would love to try it.

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    Replies
    1. Hi PH, these seaweed are not widely available, but i know of friends who have seen them at some chinese herbal medicine shops. My mum mentioned seeing them for sale at the SS2 wet market,

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  2. Hi Esther, this salad looks very delicious! I would love the crunchy seaweed. Oh and I used this seaweed before to make agar agar... my mother in law bought it at some health food shop.

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    Replies
    1. Ah, agar agar, didnt think of that. I will try that, thanks Mich.

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  3. Hi Esther, your pasta sure look good and appetizing. Have not eaten this seaweed, it's a beauty food. Very good for skin complexion.

    Have a wonderful day ahead.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Amelia, yes, these are indeed a beauty food, very rich in collagen.

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  4. Interesting stuff... that's my first encounter with such seaweed. Served cold with lime and the seaweed, the angel hair pasta salad must be very refreshing.

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    1. Yup, very refreshing and light. Good after a string of heavy meals.

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  5. What a beautiful, refreshing salad! I love noodle dishes, especially with an Asian dressing. And the seaweed looks like a great addition :)

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  6. i'm not sure is this the same seaweed that i see some chinese medical halls selling them...looks very very similar..and i know that they use that to boil drinks and can also be eaten as jelly after you fridge the drink. love your fresh and healthy pasta!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Lena, its probably is. I use it to make tong sui too.

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  7. I've never actually tried these seaweed yet I think it's also available in Sarawak. I can imagine having it in some sort of cold tong sui. Cold pasta salad is great too of course, refreshing!

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    Replies
    1. Kelly, you are right, this is great in tong sui, i make it with dried longan and red dates.

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  8. never know there's such seaweed around LOL
    the cold salad looks so refreshing!

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  9. I also have never come across this seaweed before... but I'm very tempted to try it since I like crunchy seaweed.

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  10. I'm a big fan of seaweed (most of seaweed) and this looks delicious! I don't think I've seen this particular kind. Asia has more kinds of seaweed than what we can get here. :)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Nami, these Sabah seaweed are not widely available, but its like the worst kept secret in town haha. Snce taiwanese are the biggest customers, maybe they are sold in small batches in selected shops in taiwan?..yea, unfortunately you probably cant get it in US.

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