Green laver (), known as ''aonori'' (; ) in Japan, ''sea cabbage'' () or ''hutai'' () in China, and ''parae'' () in Korean, is a type of edible green

seaweed Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of '' Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and '' Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...

, including species from the genera ''

Monostroma ''Monostroma'' is a genus of marine green algae (seaweed) in the family Monostromataceae. As the name suggests, algae of this genus are monostromatic (single cell layered). ''Monostroma kuroshiense'', an algae of this genus, is commercially culti ...

'' and ''

Ulva Ulva (; gd, Ulbha) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, off the west coast of Mull. It is separated from Mull by a narrow strait, and connected to the neighbouring island of Gometra by a bridge. Much of the island is formed fro ...

'' (''

Ulva prolifera ''Ulva prolifera'' is a species of seaweed in the family Ulvaceae that can be found worldwide. Distribution In Europe, it can be found in such countries as Bulgaria, France, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain an ...

'', ''

Ulva pertusa Ulva (; gd, Ulbha) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, off the west coast of Mull. It is separated from Mull by a narrow strait, and connected to the neighbouring island of Gometra by a bridge. Much of the island is formed from ...

'', '' Ulva intestinalis''). It is commercially cultivated in some bay areas in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, such as

Ise Bay is a bay located at the mouth of the Kiso Three Rivers between Mie and Aichi Prefectures in Japan. Ise Bay has an average depth of and a maximum depth of . The mouth of the bay is and is connected to the smaller Mikawa Bay by two channels: ...

. It is rich in minerals such as

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar ...

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ...

lithium Lithium (from el, λίθος, lithos, lit=stone) is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the least dense soli ...

vitamin A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism. Essential nutrie ...

s, and

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha ...

s such as

methionine Methionine (symbol Met or M) () is an essential amino acid in humans. As the precursor of other amino acids such as cysteine and taurine, versatile compounds such as SAM-e, and the important antioxidant glutathione, methionine plays a critical ...

. It is also called ''aosa'' (アオサ, ''Ulva pertusa'') in some places in Japan. Similar edible seaweeds, with indigenous names translated as "laver", are found in many other countries around the world. ''

Porphyra umbilicalis Green laver (), known as ''aonori'' (; ) in Japan, ''sea cabbage'' () or ''hutai'' () in China, and ''parae'' () in Korean, is a type of edible green seaweed, including species from the genera ''Monostroma'' and ''Ulva'' ('' Ulva prolifera'', '' ...

'', a red seaweed, is harvested from the coasts of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. (See

laverbread Laverbread (; cy, bara lafwr or '; ga, sleabhac) is a food product made from laver, an edible seaweed (littoral alga) consumed mainly in Wales as part of local traditional cuisine. The seaweed is commonly found around the west coast of Great ...

.) In Hawaii, "the species '' Porphyra atropurpurea'' is considered a great delicacy, called ".

Culinary use

Japan

It is used in its dried form for Japanese

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling soli ...

s, ''

tempura is a typical Japanese dish usually consisting of seafood, meat and vegetables that have been battered and deep fried. The dish was introduced by the Portuguese in Nagasaki through fritter-cooking techniques in the 16th century. The word ...

'', and material for manufacturing dried '' nori'' and '' tsukudani'' and rice. It is also used in a powdered form, often blended with ''

'' species of

Ulvaceae Ulvaceae () is a widely distributed family of thin green algae having either a flat or a hollow tubular thallus, reproducing by the conjugation of planogametes or of zoospores, and being classed among the Ulotrichales or now more commonly plac ...

as its production is limited. It is used commonly for flavouring of some Japanese foods, usually by sprinkling the powder on the hot food, for its aroma: *Fried noodles ('' yakisoba'' or '' yakiudon'') * Okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) *

Takoyaki is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter and cooked in a special molded pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus (''tako''), tempura scraps (''tenkasu''), pickled ginger (''beni shoga''), and green o ...

(octopus dumpling ball) * Isobe age * Isobe mochi *

Shichimi , also known as or simply ''shichimi'', is a common Japanese spice mixture containing seven ingredients. Tōgarashi is the Japanese name for ''Capsicum annuum'', a red pepper native to Central and South America, and it is this ingredient tha ...

(seven-spice seasoning) *Japanese potato chips * Misoshiru

Korea

In Korea, ''parae'' is eaten as a namul vegetable. It is also used to make '' gim'' (dried laver sheets).

References

External links

*
Seaweeds used as human foodMystery Seaweed and Aonori
Korean cuisine Japanese cuisine Edible seaweeds {{Japan-cuisine-stub

Culinary use

Japan

Korea

See also

References

External links