Why does seaweed turn purple after being soaked in water? Does seaweed need to be washed?

The seaweed is rich in protein, vitamins and minerals, and has a good nutritional value. Since seaweed itself has enough umami flavor, seaweed is often cooked into soup with eggs and tofu, which tastes delicious. Many friends are curious about why seaweed turns purple after soaking in water? What is the reason? Let's talk about it together!

Contents of this article

1. Why is seaweed purple after being soaked in water?

2. Does seaweed need to be washed?

3. How to make seaweed soup delicious

Why is seaweed purple after soaking in water?

Nori contains purple pigment. After soaking in water for a long time, the purple pigment slowly dissolves in the water, making the water purple-red, which is a normal phenomenon. As long as the color does not fade seriously, there is no problem and you can eat it with confidence. If the color fades seriously, it is recommended not to eat it, which may be caused by the addition of pigments.

You can observe it by the color of the laver. Laver contains phycoerythrin, so the color of the laver you usually buy should be dark brown or purple-brown, with a natural luster.

If seaweed turns ink-like color when soaked in water, it is definitely fake.

Take a small piece of laver and roast it over fire. After roasting, good quality laver should be green, like the color of seaweed. If it turns yellow after roasting, it is low quality laver.

Does seaweed need to be washed?

Nori is divided into two categories: packaged and bulk. Packaged nori is cleaned and dried before packaging, so it does not need to be cleaned. However, bulk nori is often accompanied by sand and dust, so it is recommended to be cleaned before cooking.

Nori is rich in protein, vitamins and minerals, and has good nutritional value. Since nori itself has enough freshness, nori is often cooked into soup with eggs and tofu, which tastes delicious.

How to make delicious seaweed soup

Seaweed soup can be made delicious by controlling the saltiness of the taste. Seaweed itself absorbs salt easily, so if the cooking process is not done properly, the soup may be too salty or too bland. Therefore, the amount of salt added during the cooking process is appropriate, and the seaweed soup will generally not taste too bad.

Nori is relatively fresh, so when making nori soup, there is generally no need to add additional ingredients to enhance the flavor, otherwise the flavor may be too strong and not very tasty.

When making seaweed soup, it is recommended to add ginger slices to remove the salty smell of the seaweed. This generally allows the soup to taste more refreshing while retaining the fresh flavor of the seaweed.