Japanese Seaweed Salad with Sesame & Miso Dressing

August 21, 2020Mrs. Lin's Kitchen
japanese seaweed salad recipe

Japanese seaweed salad with sesame and miso dressing is a quick and very refreshing recipe which is perfect to eat during the hot summer weather. I will share with you two different ways to prepare this salad. One with Japanese mustard greens (mizuna); and one with cucumber, red leaf lettuce and tomato.

35 years ago in Japan, I was introduced to the Japanese seaweed salad(Kaisou Sarada in Japanese) and fell in love with this dish. An authentic Japanese seaweed salad is not the same as those you get in the Japanese restaurant in the State. If you’ve ever had it, it actually tastes so much better.

japanese seaweed salad recipe
japanese seaweed salad recipe

Ingredients

japanese seaweed salad recipe
japanese seaweed salad recipe
  • Mizuna (Japanese Mustard Greens) or Tomato, Cucumber and Red Leaf Lettuce
  • 1/2 cup of dried seaweed mix

Salad Dressing

  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 4 teaspoon cane sugar
  • 2 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoon miso paste (white or red)
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce (tamari sauce or gluten free soy sauce)
  • Sesame seeds

Japanese mustard greens or mizuna has a mild peppery taste and it’s a great addition to any salad mix. I usually get mizuna from Japanese groceries like Nijiya. If you can’t get your hands on mizuna, you can still make this salad with lettuce, cucumber and tomato.

Where can I find seaweed mix?

Seaweed is the most important ingredient in this recipe

japanese seaweed salad recipe

You can find these seaweed mix packages from Japanese supermarkets like Nijiya, Marukai or Mitsuwa. They are also available online. Different brands have their own mixes of seaweeds and you can try and see which one is your favorite.

japanese seaweed salad recipe

Here are the individual seaweed that comes in the seaweed mix I used in this recipe (from left to right)

  1. White Wood Ear Mushroom/Snow Fungus (shirokikurage): It has slight crunchy texture.
  2. Wakame: This is the most common seaweed or sea vegetable that is often served in soups and salads. It has a subtle sweet but distinctive and strong flavor and texture.
  3. Kelp (kombu): It is often used for making kombu dashi. The regular size is elongated. The one in this mix has been thinly julienned before dried.
  4. Agar agar (kanten): It has no flavor or smell. It is a carbohydrate which is used to make Japanese dessert. Agar agar is also a vegetarian substitute for gelatin.
  5. Carrageen Moss (tsunomata): The vivid red color is natural. It has a slightly crunchy texture and a mild taste.

Here is how they look like before and after being soaked in water side by side:

japanese seaweed salad recipe
japanese seaweed salad recipe
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Japanese Seaweed Salad Recipe

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Japanese Seaweed Salad with Sesame-Miso Dressing

Japanese seaweed salad with sesame and miso dressing is a quick and very refreshing recipe which is perfect to eat during the hot summer weather

Ingredients

Salad Mix Option 1

  • Japanese mustard greens, or mizuna
  • 1/2 cup dried seaweed mix

Salad Mix Option 2

  • Tomatoes
  • red leaf lettuce
  • cucumbers
  • 1/2 cup dried seaweed mix

Salad Dressing

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 4 tsp cane sugar
  • 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 2 tsp miso paste, white or red
  • 1 tsp soy sauce, gluten-free option: tamari sauce, gluten-free soy sauce
  • roasted sesame seed

Instructions

Prepare the Ingredients

  • 1)

    In a bowl, soak ½ cup of dried seaweed mix in water for about 5 to 10 minutes.
    After that, you will need to squeeze out all the excess water.

  • 2)

    Cut mizuna into about an inch in length.
    Do the same for red leaf lettuce if you use it instead of mizuna.

  • 3)

    Peel of the skin and julienne cucumber

  • 4)

    Cut tomato into 1/8

Make Salad Dressing

  • 1)

    In a clean bowl, add olive oil, lemon juice, sugar, sesame oil, miso paste and soy sauce.
    Mix everything together. Make sure there are no miso paste lumps and sugar is completely dissolve.
    If you prefer a saltier taste, add more miso paste or soy sauce. For a gluten-free dressing, use tamari sauce or gluten-free soy sauce.

Make Mizuna Salad

  • 1)

    In a salad serving bowl, add a bed of mizuna

  • 2)

    Put some seaweed mix on top

  • 3)

    Drizzle some sesame and miso dressing.

  • 4)

    Sprinkle some roasted sesame seeds on the top

Make Lettuce Salad

  • 1)

    In a shallow bowl, mix cucumber slices with rehydrated seaweed. Add a few spoonfuls of salad dressing and mix them all together. Let them sit for a couple of minutes.

  • 2)

    Add a bed of lettuce in a salad serving bowl

  • 3)

    Add the seaweed and cucumber mixture that you just made

  • 4)

    Place a few wedges of tomato

  • 5)

    Sprinkle some roasted sesame seeds on the top

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