I replaced the tuna with salmon in this fresh spring salad.
What is it called?
Kombu / konbu / dashima / 昆布 (Japanese), dasime / 다시마 (Korean), haidai / 海帶 (Chinese).
What is it?
Kombu is dried seaweed. More specifically: brown algae. Even more specific: Laminaria, mostly Laminaria japonica. This seaweed grows naturally on rocky bottoms of cold, calm seas. In the past, most kombu came from the sea around the Japanese island of Hokkaido, but thanks to ingenious "production techniques", Japan has long since been overtaken by China and Korea. The algae is usually about 2 to 5 meters long and is grown in the ocean on ropes hanging in the water. In a natural way it takes 20 months for the crop to be harvested, with a little help it now also works in 12 months. The algae is dried in the sun.
How to use?
Kombu is eaten as a vegetable in Japan and China. By itself or processed in all kinds of dishes. Before use, soak for an hour in water that has just been boiled off. It then becomes slippery, green and about 2 mm thick. Cooking is not recommended, it can become bitter. In the West, kombu together with bonito flakes is better known as the basic ingredient for dashi, Japanese broth. Dried sheets of kombu are kept dry and kept cool for months / years.
From: Robin's website http://www.aziatische-ingredienten.nl
I replaced the tuna with salmon in this fresh spring salad.
