Kelp salad (sesame, crab, chili, soup)

[MechAndy]

I grabbed a nice piece of bull kelp while crabbing today to see if I could make some kelp salad because I liked the kelp salad I got from Costco so I gave it a shot.

Here is what I did.
Blanched it in boiling water for 10-15 seconds that had some lemons in it (I steamed crab in lemon water today).
Rinsed the kelp in cold water.
Sliced it into strips.
Added a very small amount of sesame seed oil.
Added some Thai sweet chili sauce.
Added a pinch of rosemary.
Added a dash of granulated garlic.

Served with steamed crab and geoduck ceviche.
This was a really good dinner and the kelp salad surprisingly stole the show.
My guests cringed at first and then later asked to take some home.

[1insider]

That looks like an amazing meal. Love geoduck but rarely have a chance to eat any. I just recently ordered some kelp pickles and have been enjoying them as a substitute for the usual cucumber pickles. They are made from slices of the thick hollow stalk of the bull kelp.

[MechAndy]

Hey 1insider,
Thank you for the kelp pickle tip.
I never thought of that.

Our house guest doesn’t live close to the water and he is currently on a kayak stuffing a leaf bag with as much kelp as he can to bring home a generous portion.

This salad is stupid simple to make and that Thai sweet chili works well with it.
As always be careful when adding sesame oil.
A little bit goes a long way.

[harry chickpea]

FWIW, khombu is a variety of kelp found dried in Asian and health food stores. Small amounts of it in a soup or stew can often turn the soup from so-so to amazing. In addition to the plant flavor, it has natural salt and MSG.

(For those who dismiss MSG, our bodies make it. The Chinese restaurant syndrome was, IMO, largely caused by a contamination of the MSG used back then.)