This kelp noodle salad is inspired by my favourite side dish called cheonsachae salad that I ate at a Korean restaurant. It seemed easy to make so I tried it out and now I can eat it any time I want at home! The salad is made from low calorie and gluten free seaweed noodles with crab sticks, cucumber, and thinly sliced egg omelette. It’s a refreshing, light, and crunchy salad with a deliciously creamy flavour. It’s a fantastic little side salad to balance heavier fried dishes like karaage chicken or chicken/pork katsu but it can really be eaten with anything!
Table of contents
What are Kelp Noodles
Kelp noodles are semi-transparent noodles made from the jelly like extract of edible seaweed. It is also known as cheon sa chae in Korean which is where this salad originates. Kelp noodles are becoming popular in Japan too as they are low in carbohydrates, gluten-free, and contain no cholesterol or fat. They’re also rich in fiber and essential vitamins and minerals like iodine, calcium, magnesium, and potassium. The noodles have a nice crunchy texture and do not have any taste of their own so they’re great in dishes that are saucy like this salad or already full of seasoning and flavor like soup.
Kelp Noodle Salad ingredients
This salad recipe for kelp noodles uses simple ingredients that come together to make a delicious and creamy salad.
Half of a package Kelp noodles
Egg
Kanikama fake crab meat
Japanese mayonnaise 2 tbsp
Lemon juice 2 tsp
Sugar 1 & 1/2 tbsp
Where to buy kelp noodles
You can buy kelp noodles from Korean grocery stores and some other Asian markets. It’s also available online on sites such as Amazon and iHerb. You may also find it in health food stores.
How to prepare Kelp noodles for the salad
Open the packet and rinse the kelp noodles under running water in order to remove the sodium alginate coating and untangle the noodles. Squeeze out the excess water. The noodles come in long lengths so cut them into shorter strands with kitchen scissors for the salad recipe. If you don’t use the whole packet of noodles, store the leftovers in water in the refrigerator.
How to make Kelp noodle salad
- Prepare your choice of vegetables, egg and fake crab sticks (step by step photo 2 and 3).
- Make dressing sauce in a large bowl. Put 2 tablespoons of Japanese mayonnaise, one and half tbsp of sugar, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp mustard to combine (photo 4).
- Wash and cut kelp noodles with kitchen scissors into the bowl.
- Add all other prepared ingredients into the bowl.
- Toss them all together and serve.
Tips for Making Kelp Noodle Salad
- Rinse the kelp noodles to remove odour and then squeeze out excess water for a crunchy texture. This will also ensure that the mayonnaise dressing will not become a diluted watery sauce.
- Adjust sweetness to your liking and dietary requirement. I like a sweet flavour like the one we eat at Korean restaurants, but I am watching my sugar intake so I replaced some sugar with monk fruit sugar.
A : You can use vinegar or lime juice (in the same amount of lemon juice).
A : You can use shredded carrots, kale, snap peas, peppers, shredded green or red cabbage, etc.
A : No, but if you omit the fake crab meat ‘Kanikama”, you can make a vegetarian version of this salad.
Other Japanese Salad Recipes
Kelp Noodle Salad 海藻麺サラダ
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 2 mini cucumber
- 2 fake crab meat stick
- ½ packet Kelp Noodles
Sweet Mayonnaise Dressing
- 2 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise
- 1½ tbsp Sugar *1
- 2 tsp Lemon Juice *2
- ½ tsp mustard powder
Instructions
Making Kinshi Tamago
- Crack the egg into a small bowl and whisk the egg.
- Heat ½ tbsp of oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
- Pour the egg and cook the egg on one side and flip it over and turn the heat off to cook the other side with the residual heat.
- Put the fried egg on a chopping board and cut the egg in half.
- Stack the egg together and roll. Slice it from one end. Set it aside.
Preparing other ingredients
- Slice the cucumber in half lengthwise and then cut thinly from one end.
- Cut fake crab meat or tear thinly and set aside.
Assembling the salad
- Combine all dressing ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
- Wash the half packet of the kelp noodles and squeeze out excess water.
- Cut the kelp noodles into the bowl.
- Add prepared egg, cucumber and fake crab meat into the bowl.
- Toss them all together till the dressing coats the ingredients.
- Serve the salad into a salad bowl.
tried this today! Me and my wife loved it
thank you for sharing
You are welcome Matt. Thank you for leaving a comment and 5 star rating.