What does wakame look like? How to wash wakame

Wakame is a very popular and beloved seafood vegetable. It can be eaten cold, cooked, stir-fried, or made into soup. It is suitable for all kinds of people to enjoy. However, Wakame contains shellfish materials and tiny sand from the ocean, which are not completely removed during the drying process. Be sure to wash it thoroughly before eating!

Contents of this article

1. What is wakame?

2. How to wash wakame

3. How to store wakame

What is wakame?

Undaria pinnatifida is a seaweed plant, annual, yellow-brown in color, 1-2 meters tall, 50-100 cm wide, with green leaves in pinnate lobes, thinner than kelp, and looks like a large sunflower fan, and also like a skirt, hence the name. There are two types: light dried and salty dried. Undaria pinnatifida is a seaweed of the brown algae Laminariaceae family, known as the vegetable of the sea.

The internal structure is very similar to that of kelp. On both sides of the growing sporophyte stalk, there are overlapping folds of spore leaves with agaric shape. When mature, sporangium is formed on the spore leaves. The life history of Undaria pinnatifida is very similar to that of kelp, and it also alternates generations. However, the growth period of sporophyte is shorter than that of kelp, which is nearly one year (kelp grows for nearly two years), while the growth period of gametophyte is longer than that of kelp, which is about one month (kelp gametophyte generally grows for only two weeks).

How to wash wakame

1. How to clean wakame - soak in warm water

Wakame contains shell material and tiny sand from the ocean, which are not completely removed during the drying process. Before eating, be sure to soak the Wakame in warm water to make it completely softened. The sand and impurities in the soaked Wakame will settle to the bottom, so it can be cleaned.

2. How to clean wakame - use a colander to wash

Place the kelp in a colander and rinse it under running warm water. This way the kelp will remain in the colander while the impurities will be squeezed and rinsed away during the rinsing process.

3. How to clean wakame - grilling to remove sand

You can also put the kelp in the pot and keep turning the two sides of the kelp. After repeating this several times, sand will remain in the pot. You can pat the dry kelp with your hands to clean it.

How to store wakame

Wakame is generally divided into dried and salted types. Dried Wakame can be stored for a long time if it is sealed and kept away from light at room temperature, generally a year is fine. If the local environment is overly humid or hot, it can be refrigerated for longer.

Salted kelp: Generally, the shelf life is not too long. One or two months in winter is fine. In summer, it is recommended to keep it in the refrigerator. It is also okay to freeze it, but it is inconvenient to thaw after freezing, and the taste will be worse.

In some areas, there is fresh kelp, which can be washed, blanched in hot water, and then refrigerated or frozen.

Note: Kelp is the plant food richest in minerals, and many of its substances are water-soluble, so it is not easy to soak it for a long time during the thawing and cleaning process.