Where do I buy "wet" seaweed? o_0

[etomlef]

this is a strange question

Comments

[laceyslostlove]

you're right; OP, you are looking for Wakame; go to an asian market as it will be far cheaper there than at Whole Foods

[trenchcoatedson]

The seaweed is normally sold dried- it will be very brittle and breakable. It's also ridiculously cheap, and may be labeled as "kombu/konbu". When it soaks in water, it gets that chewy, softer texture.

I don't know about Whole Foods, but you should be able to find it at any Asian grocer.

*Edit: Or it could be wakame, as the above poster said, which is also sold dried as well and is pretty similar to konbu/kombu. It's often used in miso soup and you can actually find packets of little shavings of it that you put in your soup.

[charlycrash]

Haha, the kombu I buy is practically indestructible in a dry form. It's like ancient green leather and certainly not brittle.

[trenchcoatedson]

I've never come across kombu that wasn't easily breakable. That's weird.

[collette]

The kombu I've cooked with is the same.

[missdark]

I was also going to say look for Wakame. Health food stores and Asian markets should have it. I made a Japanese style stew with it.

[charlycrash]

It sounds more like kombu to me. Kombu is quite thick, whilst wakame is very thin. When rehydrated, wakame tends to be darker.

In a packet, kombu is typically found as big black rectangular dried sheets, probably about 6-8" by 3-4", like this:

[charlycrash]

Oh, and I've only ever seen it dried, it comes in a packet, and it lasts forever (like 2 years). You don't have to refrigerate it.

I'd order online. I have difficulty buying it in shops, but I live in the sticks. A tonne of places online sell it, though.

[asynja]

You can also look for Dulse if you live in a non-asian oriented place. It is also dry and I used to snack on it all the time as a kid.