Tonight I'm making a special meal for my boyfriend who just got a promotion at work. We're both pretty big fans of Asian food and there is a sweet Oriental market in town. So I can make legit Asian food with legit, fresh ingredients. So I'm going to make a 3 part entry, since we will be gone this weekend, and post one recipe every day so you guys have something to attempt!
Today we have Seaweed Salad. This is one of my favorite foods ever I discovered as an adult. Of course it can never top Italian home cooking that my Nonna made, but it's still really good.
Seaweed Salad with Oyster Mushrooms
Adapted from Sweet Addition's recipe found here.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup dried arame seaweed
- 1 pound of fresh oyster mushrooms
- 2 teaspoons of fresh ginger, grated
- 1 1/2 cups red cabbage, shredded
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- Black sesame seeds for garnish
Directions:
This is what dried arame seaweed looks like. It's salted so you need to soak it in warm water for 15 minutes, drain it, rinse it, and then drain it REALLY well and the chop it into roughly 2 to 3 inch pieces.
While that's soaking, separate your bunches of oyster mushrooms in to more manageable pieces. I will generally separate every petal, except on the smaller ones.
Sauté mushrooms in hot oil until golden brown. If you're really good, even better than me, you'll think ahead a bit and sauté them in some of the sesame oil. Chop into 1 inch pieces.
In a large bowl, mix chopped seaweed, chopped mushrooms, cabbage, grated ginger, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Make sure to evenly coat everything. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour until dinnertime.
Sprinkle with sesame seeds for garnish right before serving.
Mangia!
