Sea Vegetable Salad

Thinking about incorporating more sea vegetables in your diet, give this salad a try.

2 medium pieces of wakame (2 Tbsp soaked and chopped)
2 Tbsp chopped dulse seaweed
2 1/4 cups warm water
1/2 medium onion, minced
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup long or short grain brown rice
2 pieces of astragalus root (optional – good to help with the immune system; remove after cooking)
salt and pepper to taste

Rinse wakame, and soak in the warm water for about 5 minutes. Squeeze out water from seaweed and chop. Save water. While seaweed is soaking, chop dulse, onion and garlic.
Heat 1 Tbsp of seaweed soaking water in a medium saucepan. Sauté chopped onion over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in garlic, rice, chopped seaweed, astragalus (optional), and the rest of the soaking water.
Bring water to a boil on high heat. As soon as it begins to boil, reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for about 35 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Types of sea veggies:

Dulse – soft, chewy texture and a reddish-brown color.
Arame – this lacy, wiry sea vegetable3 is sweeter and milder in taste than many others.
Hijiki – looks like small strands of black wiry pasta, has a strong flavour.
Kelp – light brown to dark green in color, oftentimes available in flake form.
Kombu – very dark in color and generally sold in strips or sheets, oftentimes used as a flavouring for soups.
Nori – dark purple-black color that turns phosphorescent green when toasted, famous for its role in making sushi rolls.
Wakame – similar to kombu, most commonly used to make Japanese miso soup.