This restaurant-style Japanese Seaweed Salad (a.k.a. “wakame“) is perfect when paired with a tray of sushi, or your favorite Asian soup! You can make this at home in just 10 minutes!
This delicious, Japanese-style Seaweed Salad is usually served as a starter at most Japanese restaurants and sushi bars, known as “wakame.” I bet you didn’t know how easy it is to make at home? It’s vibrant and healthy — the perfect tangy side dish to accompany any meal!
This tangy salad is exploding with flavors from the soy sauce and ginger to the sesame oil and red pepper flakes. You’re going to want to make a big batch of this Japanese Seaweed Salad!
Where do I get dried seaweed (wakame)?
- Asian markets usually carry bags of assorted dried seaweed, specifically for making a salad. If you don’t have an Asian market nearby, you can buy it here on Amazon or at specialty grocery stores like Whole Foods.
- Wakame is a species of edible seaweed, a type of marine algae, and a sea vegetable. It has a subtly sweet, but distinctive and strong flavor and texture. It is most often served in soups and salads.
- Sea farmers in Japan have grown wakame since the Nara period (AD 710 to 794). It’s considered the “superfood of the sea!”
Want another really great Japanese salad? You gotta try this super easy Japanese Bean Sprouts Salad! This is another traditional starter served at most sushi bars.
Tips and Tricks
- Most seaweed salads include more than one kind of seaweed so choose the one that seems best for your meal.
- Make sure to drain the seaweed very well after rehydrating.
- If you like more heat, try adding extra chili flakes, or a chili paste like sambal oelek, to the dressing.
- If you can’t find precut seaweed, you can easily cut the seaweed into strips yourself after rehydrating it.
- When fully rehydrated, the seaweed should be soft, delicate, and slightly lighter in color.
Want more?
If you liked this Japanese Seaweed Salad recipe, you’re going to want these recipes:
- Japanese Bean Sprouts Salad
- Bean Thread Noodles with Chicken
- Asian Slaw with Nuoc Cham Dressing
- Spicy Kale and Fennel Salad
Japanese Seaweed Salad (Wakame)
- Prep Time: 10
- Total Time: 10
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: No cook
- Cuisine: Japanese
Description
This restaurant-style Japanese Seaweed Salad (a.k.a. “wakame“) is perfect when paired with a tray of sushi, or your favorite Asian soup. You can make this at home in just 10 minutes!
Ingredients
- 50 grams (1.7 ounces) dried wakame seaweed
- 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- ½ teaspoon grated garlic
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 baby cucumber (skin on), very thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon toasted white sesame seeds
- ½ teaspoon black sesame seeds
Instructions
- Place the seaweed in a medium-sized bowl and cover with water. Let sit for 10 minutes until rehydrated.
- While seaweed is soaking, prepare the dressing: In another medium-sized bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, sugar, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.
- When the seaweed is rehydrated, strain the seaweed in a colander and rinse thoroughly. Make sure to remove as much moisture as possible, squeezing the seaweed if necessary.
- Add the seaweed, sliced cucumber, and sesame seeds to the bowl of dressing and toss well to coat.
- Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- When ready to serve, garnish with extra sesame seeds.
Notes
- Most seaweed salads include more than one kind of seaweed so choose the one that seems best for your meal.
- Make sure to drain the seaweed very well after rehydrating.
- If you like more heat, try adding extra chili flakes, or a chili paste like sambal oelek, to the dressing.
- If you can’t find precut seaweed, you can easily cut the seaweed into strips yourself after rehydrating it.
- When fully rehydrated, the seaweed should be soft, delicate, and slightly lighter in color.
Keywords: wakame salad, dried wakame seaweed, Japanese seaweed salad recipe, seaweed salad meal, seaweed salad nutrition, wakame seaweed
Dried seaweed sold packaged, like wakame looks very brown. “Fresh” wakame salad probably reconstituted is always really bright/dark green. Is this true for all the seaweed or kelps we can buy ?
I see frozen packs of seaweed and/or seaweed salad – are these any good ?
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Honestly, I haven’t tried the frozen packs of seaweed. Dried seaweed is naturally brown or dark green. It will be good, I promise!
Thank you so much for the recipe. I’m just wondering how long it would keep for?
Hi Sam! The seaweed salad should last 3-4 days in the fridge. So glad you liked the recipe!
This is really good! Tastes very similar to the seaweed salad you can get at an Asian restaurant or grocery store. I’m so happy I can now make this at home! I ended up using raw seaweed that my local Asian mart had and I added fresh thinly sliced carrots and scallions. Thanks for the great recipe!!
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So, so glad you can now make this seaweed salad at home! Who knew it could be so easy? Enjoy!!
Those are certainly healthy and delicious salads. I can’t wait to try them at home, I know my family will love them!
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Happy that you’ll give this wakame seaweed salad a try!
I always buy this salad in the store as I never knew how to make it. Now I do and I can’t wait to make it for my family!
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Yes! People don’t realize how easy this is to make at home in your own kitchen!
Such a light and fresh salad! I love that this is equally healthy and delicious!
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And, it’s so easy to make! This wakame seaweed salad is such a delight when we sit at the sushi bar.
This salad looks straight out of a sushi resteraunt!
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That was definitely my inspiration! I just love this wakame salad when I sit at the sushi bar!
Love the sound of this Japanese seaweed salad. I’m not sure I can buy the dried seaweed where I live, but am going to check it out on Amazon!
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Yes, they do sell dried seaweed on Amazon. Not everyone has an Asian market they can go to, so thank goodness for ordering online!
I’ve been wanting to make seafood salad at home and this recipe came out perfect. Even better than takeout. Will make it agian.
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It’s a healthy, easy and tasty recipe for the home cook. So glad you like this wakame seaweed salad!
I’m a huge seaweed salad fan so I was really excited to come across this recipe. Thank you!
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You’re so welcome! You won’t believe how easy this wakame seaweed salad is to make!
This recipie is easily followed and tastes amazing. But also noted that this dressing also tastes amazing on cucumber salad as well. Thank you for sharing.
So glad you like this seaweed salad! It really is easy and great for preparing at home. It’s one of my faves when I eat at my local sushi bar!
I love the vibrant colors in this salad and it really looks delicious, and so easy to make.
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Wakame seaweed salad is something I always look forward to at my local sushi bar. Now we can make this at home so easily!
I have always seen this but never tried it, thank you for all the information. I will make it a point to try this, it looks delicious and so healthy!
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Give this wakame seaweed salad a try! I believe you will like it!
Wow! This recipe looks so delicious and enticing to see. Greenish looks make it’s so tempting to eat. I would definitely make this at home.
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Eat your greens, am I right? This wakame seaweed salad is super easy to make at home!
I love this dish at Asian restaurants but never knew what kind of seaweed it was. I love the tender but crunchy texture and the sweet,tangy but also savory{umam] dressing, now I can make it at home.
No one knows they can make this at home in just 10 minutes! Hope you enjoy this wakame salad!
I have heard a lot about edible seaweed but still haven’t tried it. I might just use your link to give it a try along with your amazing recipe!
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You only live once, am I right? Give wakame a try! I think you’ll really like it!
This dish is really making me want to travel again, and especially to Japan! I love the flavors here and that it only takes 10 minutes to make!
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I too miss traveling so much! Good thing we can live vicariously through our food, right?
Wakame is one of my favorite little side dishes at the sushi bar! I’m so happy to learn how to make this at home!
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I was so happy to learn how to make this seaweed salad too! It’s so darn easy, you won’t believe it!