• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Aline Made logo
  • Recipes
    • Vegan
    • Breakfast
    • Sides & Snacks
    • Lunch & Dinner
    • Desserts
    • Basics
    • Baking
    • Drinks
    • Vegan Summer E-Book
    • Measurement Conversion Chart
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Deutsch
  • Nav Social Menu

menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Meet Aline
  • Deutsch
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Wakame Salad (Japanese Seaweed Salad)

    Aug 11, 2022 · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

    0 shares

    Read in: Deutsch

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Learn how to make Japanese wakame seaweed salad at home! This low calorie salad is perfect when paired with a tray of sushi or as a Japanese side dish! 

    japanese wakame salad with sesame in a bowl
    Jump to:
    • 💡 Good To Know
    • 🛒 Ingredients
    • 👩‍🍳 Visual Step-by-Step Instructions
    • 🫙 Make-Ahead & Storage Instructions
    • 🍱 More Asian Recipes
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    Wakame salad is a popular Japanese seaweed salad (also known as Goma Wakame), which is served in every sushi restaurant as an appetizer or part of a bento box. It consists of dried seaweed and a simple Asian dressing. Wakame seaweed tastes rather salty, is somewhat rubbery, crunchy, and usually comes in a translucent green color.

    goma wakame salad with dried seaweed in a bowl

    Japanese seaweed salad is super healthy, has hardly any calories, and can easily be prepared at home. All you need is dried wakame seaweed, which you can get either in an Asian store or in a larger grocery store. 

    💡 Good To Know

    Dried seaweed is very small in volume and super light in weight. You first have to soak it in lukewarm water for about 10 minutes, then it will gain volume and becomes edible. 

    dried wakame

    You will notice that this salad doesn’t quite has the same vibrant and translucent color as you get in the sushi restaurant, it features a rather dark green color. The reason for this is that these salads you can get at any Japanese restaurant are prepared with fresh or frozen wakame, which unfortunately is not available in every country. However, the salad tastes super delicious even with dried wakame seaweed!

    If you have any chance to get fresh or frozen seaweed, please go ahead and use it to prepare this recipe. 

    japanese seaweed salad with sesame seeds in a bowl

    Wakame is a sea vegetable and type of brown algae that grows in salt water. That is why it tastes very salty. It has a rubbery texture, is low in calories and low in fat, provides many vitamins, nutrients, minerals, and iodine. It is also often used in miso soup.

    🛒 Ingredients

    See recipe card for quantities.

    Wakame Salad Ingredients
    • Wakame → Dried wakame seaweed is available in Asia Shops or in larger supermarkets. Must be soaked in lukewarm water before using.
    • Roasted Sesame Seeds → Provide a great crunch and nutty flavor! 
    • Dressing: Soy Sauce, Rice Vinegar, Sesame Oil, Maple Syrup, Grated Ginger → Those ingredients make for an aromatic Japanese dressing. Rice vinegar can be replaced with lime juice. As seaweed is already particularly salty, the sauce only needs a splash of added soy sauce. 

    Extra Flavor – add some grated or finely chopped garlic to the salad! Also tastes delicious topped with finely chopped green onion.

    Do you like it spicy? Then top the whole thing with Japanese chili oil (Layu) – I love this twist!

    dried wakame salad in a bowl with chopsticks

    👩‍🍳 Visual Step-by-Step Instructions

    This visual step-by-step instruction will help you along the way – definitely recommended if you’re a cooking beginner! 😉

    • Place dried wakame seaweed with plenty of lukewarm water in a large bowl and let it soak for 10 minutes. Drain over a seed and squeeze out excess water with your hands. → This prevents the dressing from becoming too watery.
    Wakame Salad Recipe Step 1-2
    • Mix all dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
    • Add wakame seaweed, dressing, and sesame seeds in a bowl and toss well. 
    Wakame Salad Recipe Step 3-4

    Hint: I love to let the wakame salad sit in the fridge for 1 hour before serving!

    🫙 Make-Ahead & Storage Instructions

    Wakame salad doesn’t get mushy, therefore you can easily make it ahead of time. I love to let the salad sit for a bit in the refrigerator, this way the seaweed soaks up a little more flavor from the dressing. 

    Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Stays fresh for 2 days.

    🍱 More Asian Recipes

    • Bean Sprout Salad
    • Asian Slaw
    • Asian Cucumber Salad
    • Asian Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing

    If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a star rating ★ below. 

    Please follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or sign up for my free newsletter to never miss the newest recipes. I would be thrilled to welcome you to my community & thank you so much for your support! 💕

    📖 Recipe

    wakame salat mit sesam

    Wakame Salad (Japanese Seaweed Salad)

    Aline Cueni
    Learn how to make Japanese wakame seaweed salad at home! This low calorie salad is perfect when paired with a tray of sushi or as a Japanese side dish! 
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Total Time 15 mins
    Course Salad
    Cuisine Japanese
    Servings 2
    Calories 18 kcal

    Ingredients
     

    • 20 g dried wakame seaweed see notes
    • 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

    Dressing

    • 1 ½ tbsp rice vinegar
    • 1 tbsp soy sauce
    • 2 tsp sesame oil
    • 1 tsp maple syrup or sugar
    • 1 tsp ginger grated

    Instructions
     

    • Place dried wakame seaweed with plenty of lukewarm water in a large bowl and let it soak for 10 minutes. Drain over a seed and squeeze out excess water with your hands.
    • Mix all dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
    • Add wakame seaweed, dressing, and sesame seeds in a bowl and toss well. Hint: I love to let the wakame salad sit in the fridge for 1 hour before serving!

    Notes

    Dried wakame (seaweed) is available in the Asia Shop or in the Asia department in larger supermarkets. Be aware, it looks like little, but the volume multiplies by soaking. If you have any chance to get fresh or frozen seaweed, please go ahead and use it to prepare this recipe.
    If you like, you can add some grated garlic and finely chopped spring onions to the salad. Feel free to top it with some Japanese chili oil (Layu) just before serving!
    Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days.

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Facts
    Wakame Salad (Japanese Seaweed Salad)
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 18 Calories from Fat 9
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 1g2%
    Saturated Fat 0.2g1%
    Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
    Monounsaturated Fat 0.5g
    Sodium 115mg5%
    Potassium 12mg0%
    Carbohydrates 1g0%
    Fiber 0.1g0%
    Sugar 0.4g0%
    Protein 0.5g1%
    Vitamin A 36IU1%
    Vitamin C 0.3mg0%
    Calcium 21mg2%
    Iron 0.3mg2%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    More Recipe Ideas

    • a stack of homemade pita bread
      Homemade Pita Bread
    • ramen eggs on a plate
      Ramen Eggs (Ajitsuke Tamago)
    • Kale salad with apples, figs, walnut and goat cheese in a salad bowl
      Kale Salad with Apples
    • two hand holding a bowl of Apple Celeriac Soup
      Apple & Celeriac Soup

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Aline Cueni | Founder & Blogger Aline Made

    Welcome

    Hi, I’m Aline!

    I’m a girl who loves to cook and bake delicious homemade food.  Let me help you to incorporate more plant-based foods into everyday life! Vegetarian & vegan recipes can be anything but boring. More about me!

    DON’T MISS A RECIPE

    Sign up now to get new recipes delivered to your inbox, plus my top 10 recipes ebook absolutely free!

    Popular Recipes

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Connect

    Join our community on social media!

    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Facebook

    Newsletter

    Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Change language

    EN | DE

    About

    • Meet Aline
    • Work With Us
    • Contact
    • Press
    • Resources
    • Privacy Policy

    Copyright © 2023 Aline Made

    0 shares