Seaweed is one of the ocean’s oldest, and most delicious, treasures.

Elbrich Fennema | July/August 2010 issue

 
To know where you’re going, you have to know where you’ve been. Of course, each of us has our own history, which has brought us to where we are today. But we also share a universal ancestry. Take the ocean, where life on Earth began. She is our primordial mother, as evidenced by the etymological relationship in many languages between the words for “mother” and “ocean.” The French word mere (“mother”) contains the word for “ocean” (mer). The Chinese character for “ocean” is a combination of “water” and “mother.”
We can even put part of our original oceanic ancestry onto our plates. By choosing ­seaweed from all that is edible beneath the waves, we go way back in evolution. These ­primeval plants have been floating around for an eternity, humbly occupying a low position on the food pyramid, but chock full of minerals. For that reason alone, it is worth the effort of adding this underestimated ocean treasure to the menu. Perhaps it will even add clarity to our view of the future.
Let two or three tbs. of instant wakame soak for a couple of minutes in a little water. Meanwhile, thinly slice a cucumber. Squeeze the water from the wakame, cut it into small pieces and mix with the cucumber. Add equal amounts of vinegar, shoyu and roasted sesame oil. Garnish with thin slices of spring onion. Voilà: the freshest primeval salad you’ll ever have!