Japanese Wakame Seaweed Salad

If you ever dine in a Japanese restaurant, chances are you will be familiar with this salad! Wakame seaweed salad is a popular Japanese appetizer that is crunchy, refreshing, and versatile. I love serving mine with vegan yakisoba, a Japanese noodle dish. 

The best part is it is effortless to make and only calls for a handful of ingredients! This is also a no-cook recipe, making it perfect for the warmer season. 

💚Why you will love this recipe

• Light, refreshing, yet packed with flavors
• Highly versatile and goes well with most Japanese main and side dishes 
• A super quick 15-minute recipe that requires minimal prepping 
• Healthy, low in calories, and allergen-friendly

🤔What is wakame salad

As its name suggests, wakame seaweed salad is made from wakame, an edible seaweed commonly used in Asian dishes, especially Korean and Japanese cuisines. It is widely sold in dry form and has to be rehydrated before use. 

The rehydrated seaweed is flavored with various seasonings like soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar. This dish has a slightly crunchy texture and is umami, savory, and tangy with a hint of sweetness.

🧂What you will need

📃Ingredient notes and substitutions

• Wakame - The star ingredient in this recipe. It is found in dry form and has to be rehydrated before use. They can be found in most groceries (usually in the International aisle), in your local Asian market, or online. 
• Soy sauce - can be substituted with tamari or shoyu. Use a certified gluten-free brand if needed. 
• Rice vinegar - Can be substituted with mirin or sake. 
• Sugar - Any granulated sweeteners like cane sugar, brown sugar, or table sugar will work. 

🔪How to make

Rehydrating wakame - In a bowl, place in wakame and cover it with water. Let it soak for 10 minutes. Drain and gently squeeze out excess water before using.

Making the dressing - Combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar in a bowl. Stir to mix. 

Mixing everything - Add dressing to the rehydrated seaweed, and toss to combine. Give it a taste, adding more seasonings if needed. Optionally, top your wakame seaweed salad with chopped green onion and sesame seeds before serving.

✔Helpful tips

• Wakame - If you can't find precut wakame, you can easily cut large ones into smaller strips after rehydrating.
• Drain wakame well - Thoroughly drain wakame and gently squeeze it to remove excess water before using. This is to prevent watery salad with its taste diluted. 
• Chilling it - If you have extra time, chill wakame salad for around 30 minutes before serving. The flavor will better develop, and this salad is traditionally eaten cold! 
• Storing leftovers - Leftover salad can be refrigerated for 2-3 days. I do not recommend keeping it longer than that, as wakame will turn slimy and mushy.

✨Variations and add-ins

Seaweed - Although I use only wakame here, you can jazz things up by mixing other seaweed! Or, you could use a bag of assorted seaweed.

Spicy - If you love spice, toss some sambal oelek/ chili flakes or simply drizzle on hot sauce or sriracha before serving.

More veggies - You can toss in other vegetables into your wakame salad! Thinly sliced cucumber, shredded cabbage, and carrot are some great additions. You might have to double the ingredients for the sauce.

Dressing - Feel free to change up the sauce to whatever you fancy! You can use teriyaki sauce or spicy teriyaki sauce. A simple miso dressing works great too!

🍙How to serve

Here are some dishes that go well with wakame seaweed salad: 

• Japanese mains like vegan miso ramen, teriyaki soba noodles, and seitan teriyaki chicken 
• As a component for poke bowls and salad bowls 
• Filling for vegan onigiri or sushi

❔Commonly asked questions

🍽More vegan Asian side dishes

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