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.