Seaweed is quite delicious, with a pleasant fresh saltiness reminiscent of the sea. Vegetarians have always recognized the importance of sea vegetables, which are a valuable, and inexpensive, source of concentrated essential vitamins and minerals. They also rely on carrageen or agar-agar, seaweed used for thickening and gelling, instead of animal-derived gelatine.

Asian have always been more ready to eat sea vegetables than Westerners, and seaweed is particularly popular in Japan with its long jagged coastline. The proliferation of Japanese restaurants all over the world has spurred interest in sea vegetables, and there is a wide variety of dried marine vegetation now on sale in Asian food stores and health food shops.

Seaweeds are eaten as vegetables, are used as garnishes and in dressings, and add a distinctive salty flavor to soups and snacks such as crispy rice crackers.

** Asian Recipes **