Wild Wakame Seaweed
Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) is also known as apron-ribbon vegetable, Asian kelp or Japanese kelp. It is a delicious seaweed native to Japan, China and Korea. It has been harvested in Japan for around 1,500 years and cultivated there since the 1950s.
In the mid 1990s, wakame turned up in British waters. It can be found in small amounts along the south coast in marinas, off pontoons and in estuaries.
In this blog I discuss how to identify wakame and where to find it. I share a video of it in and out of water, the benefits (and problems) with it and recipe ideas!
Where does wakame like to grow?
I found these samples of wakame with fellow MBA students in and around Plymouth. We were all fascinated by seawaeeds and were attending a 3-day course with the Marine Biological Association. Wakame arrived in the UK via the marine culture and shipping. This method also brought it to France, Belgium, Spain, USA, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.
Wakame thrives in cold water, preferring and reproducing at temperatures of 5-15°C and at up to 20°C. British sea waters are a perfect environment for it to grow, as it ranges from an average of 6-10°C in the winter and 15-20°C in the summer. It is a seaweed we could expect to see more of.
Wakame can also tolerate changes in salinity and therefore grows well in estuaries where seawater meets fresh water.
It grows in a variety of conditions and can form dense kelp forests. Here is an image of a single piece of it.
What does wakame look like?
Wakame is a member of the kelp family and has a similar look and thickness to Dabberlocks (Alaria esculenta) and Sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima).
Wakame has a ragged edge making it look like fingers or ribbons (see above). It grows up to 3 metres long and has a mid-rib or stem running through the middle of the seaweed, along its whole length.
Wakame is a yellowy-brown seaweed. It is a lot lighter in texture than many other kelps such a oarweed (Laminaria digitata) or forest kelp (Laminaria hyerborea).
The benefits of wakame seaweed
Wakame contains good amounts of; folate, vitamin C, calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, B2, B3 and B5. It is a light seaweed that an be eaten raw. It is slightly sweet and can be used in similar ways to Alaria escunlenta.
Traditionally pieces of wakame are added to miso soup. In my Seaweed book I share recipes for a crab or carrot and ginger salad with alaria and a sauerkraut and kimchee recipe using it too. Wakame could easily replace alaria in these recipes.
For food lovers, this possibility of finding wakame locally is exciting, yet there is a bigger picture too. Wakame is listed as one of the top 100 worst invasive species. However sightings in the UK are still minimal.
If and when wakame increases and becomes an abundant or problematic seaweed here in British waters, there is an easy, ethical and healthy way to reduce it's presence. Forage it by hand and eat it!