Sweet and Tangy Seasoned Seaweed Salad Recipe
Winter Side Dish: Easy and Delicious Seasoned Seaweed Salad
A delightful winter treat, this sweet, tangy, and slightly spicy seasoned seaweed salad is perfect as a side dish or as a component in bibimbap. The tender texture of fresh wakame seaweed combined with the zesty dressing will awaken your appetite. Wakame seaweed is particularly popular in coastal areas during winter for its natural sweetness and refreshing aroma.
Main Ingredients
- 1 bundle Wakame seaweed (approx. 200g)
- Small piece of Carrot (approx. 30g)
- 2 Scallions
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
Rinse the fresh wakame seaweed thoroughly under running water multiple times to remove any dirt or impurities. While it’s delicious dipped directly in chojang (spicy vinegar sauce), seasoning it with this sweet and tangy sauce makes it an excellent side dish or a wonderful addition to mixed rice. If you love seaweed, this recipe will help you create a fantastic banchan (side dish).
Step 2
Store-bought wakame is usually sold in bundles, and for around 3,000 won, you can get a generous amount. Fresh seaweed is indispensable when enjoying gwamegi (fermented pacific herring) in winter. Seaweed has a natural sweetness that makes it enjoyable even when eaten plain.
Step 3
Blanch the wakame in boiling water for just 10-20 seconds, then immediately rinse it in cold water to stop the cooking process. This enhances the seaweed’s texture and makes it tender. Cut the blanched seaweed into bite-sized pieces, about 4-5 cm long. If there are seaweed stems, slice them diagonally and add them; they provide a pleasant chewy texture and savory flavor as you chew.
Step 4
Now, let’s make the delicious cho-gochujang (spicy-sweet-tangy) dressing! In a bowl, combine 2 Tbsp gochujang, 1 Tbsp gochugaru, 1/2 Tbsp minced garlic, 1 Tbsp maesilcheong, and 1 Tbsp vinegar. Mix well. You can add a little sugar or corn syrup to your taste if desired.
Step 5
Add the prepared cho-gochujang dressing to the blanched wakame and gently mix by hand, ensuring the seaweed is evenly coated. Be gentle so as not to break the seaweed too much.
Step 6
Add the julienned carrots and chopped scallions to the bowl and mix them in. The crisp carrots and aromatic scallions will enhance both the flavor and appearance of the seasoned seaweed salad. Thinly sliced onions can also be added for extra crunch.
Step 7
Soft wakame can be blanched and seasoned immediately, but if your seaweed is a bit tough, blanching will make it much more tender and pleasant to eat. This seasoned seaweed salad, with its sweet and tangy dressing and refreshing oceanic aroma, is delicious on its own, and when mixed with hot rice, it becomes a ‘rice thief’ that will have you finishing your meal in no time! Enjoy your delicious creation!
