Sea Vegetable Company promotes the new appeal of seaweed

The theme of the “Seaweed Food Exchange Meeting” that was held on May 28 (Sun) at the Marunouchi venue, “MY Shokudo Hall & Kitchen,” was “Innovation in Food”. What is Sea Vegetable Company, which delivers a new seaweed food culture through groundbreaking technologies such as cultivating seaweed on the sea surface and on land?

“There are approximately 1,500 species of edible (non-poisonous) seaweeds in waters of Japan. In Japan, only a few dozen of those types of seaweed are eaten, but looking at the rest of the world, few countries eat as much seaweed as we do here, and we are the most advanced country in the world when it comes to seaweed diets,” says Yuichi Tomohiro, co-CEO of Sea Vegetable Company, a limited liability company established in 2016.
It may seem like a waste to have only eat a few dozen of the 1,500 species of seaweed, but while seaweeds are as diverse as land plants, many of them have yet to be developed in the way they are eaten and prepared.

“Furthermore, seaweed, which used to grow in abundance a few years ago, is disappearing rapidly due to rising water temperatures and other factors. For example, the Shimanto River in Kochi Prefecture used to produce approximately 60 tons of "suji-aonori" (streak green laver) at its peak in 1980, but due to the rising water temperature at the mouth of the river, the amount has now dropped to almost zero. Suji-aonori grows only in brackish water where seawater and freshwater mix. Therefore, the only way to revive it and preserve its food culture was to extract a steady supply of seeds from seaweed and cultivate them on land.”

In April 2016, with the help of leading experts in seaweed research and classification, water quality analysis, and equipment development, Sea Vegetable Company established the world's first land-based seaweed cultivation model using underground seawater.
Furthermore, in recent years, the company has been focusing on expanding "sea forests" by growing seaweed on the sea surface in response to the drastic decrease in the number of seaweeds throughout Japan. Seaweed is often referred to as the "cradle of the sea" and plays an important role as a spawning ground for sea creatures such as fat greenling and squid, and as a hiding place for small fish. In order to sustainably protect the marine ecosystem, the goal is to develop a seaweed food culture and increase consumption to create a model that fishermen can continue to comfortably use for their livelihood. Therefore, we aim to create a new food culture of seaweed by developing methods of preserving and cooking seaweed that have not been discovered until now.

“For example, most people envision drying seaweed as a method of preservation, but that method was probably established long ago, before the development of technology. In Sea Vegetable Company's test kitchen, we change the types of seaweed and preservation conditions little by little every day, and continue to research, saying, In Sea Vegetable Company's test kitchen, we change the types of seaweed and preservation conditions little by little every day, and continue to research, saying, "This seaweed has a good taste but a bad texture," or "This seaweed has a good texture but a bad taste." Even when looking at the primary industry as a whole, we believe that there are very few companies in the world that are involved in everything from extracting seeds from seaweed to cultivating, making products, and selling them.

"Suji-aonori" and "haba-nori" recipes created by a sushi writer and professional chef

So how can seaweed, which is currently attracting attention from top chefs overseas, be prepared in a delicious way?
Next, sushi writer Daisuke Okada and cookery expert Naoya Higuchi shared recipes for nine seaweed dishes that can be recreated at home and tips on how to use seaweed in cooking, designed for this event, for guests attending the event and for those participating in the online viewing session. A nine-course tasting was also prepared for the participants to enjoy at the venue.

The seaweed that was the main ingredient in the first dish was “suji-aonori”.
Higuchi's first dish was “braised pork with suji-aonori and kiwi”. Suji-aonori contains the taste of concentrated minerals and amino acids common to all seaweeds with the aroma of "aldehydes" (organic sulfur compounds that have the scent of the sea) and a tea-like aroma, so the key is how to make the most of this scent and flavor. That's where the kiwi comes in. Ingredients that share the same aroma components go well with each other, and kiwi is a good match because it has a tea-like aldehyde aroma, which is also found in suji-aonori.

Okada's first dish was "chikuwa-ten," (fish paste tempura) which maximizes the aroma of suji-aonori, widely known as the "king of aroma in the seaweed world".
Tempura can be a bit of a hassle to prepare, but this chikuwa-ten is made by simply sprinkling tenkasu (tempura flakes) and suji-aonori over the concave portion of the chikuwa. With this dish, you can enjoy the aroma of suji-aonori more than the usual isobe-age (deep-fried dish containing seaweed). He apparently came up with the idea after seeing leftover tenkasu and chikuwa at home.

Okada was also surprised at how well seaweed and oysters go together after he started using seaweed from Sea Vegetable Company. Higuchi was quick to agree, adding, "I also tried oyster clam chowder with suji-aonori, and it was amazing!"

The second dish featured “haba-nori,” a seaweed that is yellowish-brown when raw but turns green when cooked. Okada completed this simple dish by laying the haba-nori on the isaki (chicken grunt) nigiri sushi. “The aroma, which is similar to that of dry grass, is addictive, and I can no longer do without it” (laughs). I always add haba-nori to my favorite spice curry,” he added, seemingly hooked on its unique aroma.

“Haba-nori has a unique bitter taste and aroma, so it is positioned as a wild vegetable in the seaweed world. Roasting it also reduces its bitterness,” said Higuchi. The flavor of the dish is thickened by combining the Haba-nori seaweed, which turns green after roasted it in a frying pan, with shiitake mushroom steaks, which also has its own unique aroma.

Utilizing the color and texture of seaweed by adding heat and acid

Following the recipes from the first half, in which the haba-nori was “poured” on top of the dishes, the recipes from the second half featured four dishes that showed how adding heat and acid changes the taste of the foods in a different way.

「Okada then introduced “Tosaka-nori,” a seaweed with a distinctive red color. “Back in the day, it was served as one of the side dishes at sushi restaurants,” he explained. Although Tosaka-nori used to be available on the coastal regions of Japan, it is now almost exclusively imported, and a substitute called “Tosaka-modoki,” which is less thick and has a weaker texture, is used in its place in most cases. When I tasted Sea Vegetable Company's Tosaka-nori, I was shocked by the delicious rich texture and flavor of the real thing," said Okada.
“When placed in water, salted Tosaka-nori turns pink, and when acid is added, it turns even brighter pink, making it ideal for use in vinegared dishes. Today’s dish also utilized the color-brightening properties of eggplant by marinating it in the juice of Nanban pickled eggplant. You can heat the Tosaka-nori, but if it is overcooked, it will melt, so when making yakisoba or Pad Thai noodles, it is recommended to turn off the heat before adding the Tosaka-nori, and enjoy its firm texture in the residual heat.”

“I also thought that Tosaka-nori tasted the best when dressed with ponzu sauce,” Higuchi said, proposing a dish consisting of dressed noodles. “This time, I drained the salt for five minutes before straining the noodles with water. Because the noodles are salted, they can be stored in the refrigerator, and adding acid to them is a great way to add color to your cooking. I thought it would be great to use them as the main ingredient in a salad, as they have a really interesting texture. When red algae are landed, the carotenoid pigments begin to break down, producing a pleasant floral or tea-like aroma, so it makes sense to use them in desserts to take advantage of their lovely red color,” he added.
One customer who tasted the dish commented, “When I tried it, I felt it was similar to snow fungus used in Chinese cuisine, so I thought it would be a good idea to make a red and white dessert with red Tosaka-nori and snow fungus to give it a festive look.”

The last two dishes were prepared with “waka-hijiki”. Currently, 90% of hijiki in Japan is imported from overseas. Generally, it is prohibited to catch hijiki until it grows large, and after harvesting, it is sold dried after being steamed or boiled for a long time because of its hardness and astringency, but waka-hijiki cultivated in the sea by Sea Vegetable Company is harvested in its sprouted state, so it is soft without the bitter flavor. It is quickly boiled in hot water, scented with pesticide-free yuzu, cherry blossom, and green chili peppers, and preserved in salt.

To prevent the water-soluble nutrients from being lost, Okada boiled them quickly and prepared them as a salad. “I was surprised to find that the texture of waka-hijiki, which had been boiled in salted water, was almost raw, and for someone who has always eaten them boiled, I was surprised to find that the texture was so different from that of traditional hijiki. Today I used hijiki flavored with yuzu, but even when mixed with seaweed, the aroma of yuzu is still present, and I think all three flavors go well with the salad. I drained the salt for three to four minutes, leaving a little bit of the salty flavor, and utilized it for seasoning the red cabbage and shiso leaves.”

“The key is to quickly wash the waka-hijiki under running water while changing the water several times. The salt on the surface is removed, but the salt remaining on the inside is used to flavor the broth. The saltiness of the waka-hijiki soaks into the broth and goes well with the tenderness of the chicken dumplings. I want people to enjoy the texture of the hijiki. After trying many different kinds of waka-hijiki, I also really enjoyed it with a mashed tofu salad, which is simply waka-hijiki dressed with mashed tofu. I think the crunchy texture of the waka-hijiki is what makes it a good match for ingredients with softer textures.”

Finally, Okada offered bale-shaped rice balls covered with Sea Vegetable Company's signature processed product, “aonori furikake”. He also introduced the characteristics and uses of “yumigata-ogonori,” a seaweed with a light, crunchy texture, and “mirin,” a seaweed with a soft, pudding-like texture. He did not originally plan to introduce these two seaweeds, but Okada decided to add them at the last minute because he “wanted people to know about their unique texture.”

It was a fulfilling two hours of learning about the six different types of seaweed, their different characteristics and ways of eating them, and the wide range of recipes that can be created using them. Along with their unknown flavors, expectations were high for the possibilities of new seaweeds.