SEA NOODLES RED ALGAE
Sea noodles are red seaweeds of the genus Gracilaria — known as ogonori in Japan, gulaman in the Philippines, and sea moss or Irish moss in some other markets. They grow as fine branching strands, and they're eaten widely across East and Southeast Asia, both as a vegetable in their own right and as the source of agar.
What They Look Like
Fine, cylindrical, branching strands — reddish-purple to olive depending on species and light, turning greener when blanched. They grow in shallow, sheltered water, often on sand or mud rather than rock, and are cultivated on a large scale in Indonesia, the Philippines, China and Chile.
Britain has its own smaller relative, Nemalion helminthoides, sometimes also called sea noodle — gelatinous brown-red worm-like strands on exposed rocky shores. It's edible but rarely eaten.
What They Taste Like
Mild and clean, with a light brininess and almost no fishiness. The interest is textural: raw Gracilaria has a distinct crunch, quite unlike the soft or leathery textures of most seaweeds. Cooked, it softens and takes on the flavours around it.
How They're Used
- Raw in salads — the classic Japanese preparation, blanched briefly and dressed with vinegar and soy. In the Philippines it's used in salads with tomato and onion.
- In soups — added late so it keeps some bite.
- As agar — Gracilaria is a principal commercial source of agar, the setting agent used in jellies, desserts and laboratory media. Gulaman jelly in Filipino cooking comes from it directly.
- Pickled — the firm texture holds up well.
An Important Safety Note
Gracilaria needs to be handled properly. Fresh ogonori has been linked to a small number of serious and occasionally fatal poisoning incidents in Japan, associated with compounds that can form in the seaweed after harvest, particularly when it isn't kept cool or is left too long before eating.
Commercially processed Gracilaria — the dried, salted or pre-treated product sold for cooking — is not implicated and is eaten safely by millions of people daily. The risk relates to fresh, unprocessed material that has been stored badly. If you're buying it, buy it processed from a reputable supplier, and don't attempt to prepare fresh Gracilaria from an unknown source.
This is unusual among seaweeds. See our guide to whether seaweed can be poisonous for the wider picture — the short version is that almost nothing else carries this caveat.
Nutrition
Gracilaria contains dietary fibre, vitamin C, calcium, iron and iodine. Its agar content means much of the fibre is soluble, which is part of why it behaves the way it does in cooking.
Related
Sea noodles sit with the red seaweeds alongside dulse and laver. See the full guide to edible seaweed, or our guide to edible seaweed in the UK for what grows closer to home.
Seaweed has been a source of savoury flavour for centuries. Sozyë's sauces are brewed from a blend of wild Scottish seaweeds, harvested off the north coast of Scotland.