Hijiki

Hijiki

“We braise this dried seaweed with dashi mirin and white soy sauce. It’s the earthiest of all of them, and a little sweeter too. We also add some ginger and rice vinegar to make it even more complex.”

Mozuku

Mozuku

“This fresh, raw seaweed comes from Okinawa and is sent to us packed in its own ocean water. We add ginger pearls, actually spheroids, and some ginger vinegar. It’s the most seasoned of all the seaweeds.”

Yuzu-Sesame Gelée

Yuzu-Sesame Gelée

“It’s the dressing for all the seaweeds. You’re meant to dip them; if we dressed them, they’d lose all their color and texture. It’s a gelée just so that it doesn’t drip all over the place.”

Umi Seaweed

Umi Seaweed

“We call it ‘parsley seaweed,’ and it comes packed in salt. It’s rinsed under running water for twenty minutes.”

Kombu

Kombu

“Far and away the meatiest of them all. It’s braised in water and has an almost bamboo-ish taste. The texture is slightly leathery.”

Wakame

Wakame

“This leafy seaweed comes to us in cold ocean water like the mozuku, but with a more delicate ocean flavor. It’s the softest texture of all, too.”

Beni Suginori

Beni Suginori

“I like this one a lot; it’s another salt-packed seaweed, but it’s crunchy without being tough.”

Kansou

Kansou

“All three of these are basically the same but come in three different colored varieties, which we include just to keep people visually interested. We get this dried, and it’s brinier and crunchier than the rest. The texture is slightly more rubbery, and they have a very salty, concentrated taste.”