French Wakame Butter with Matcha
Mais oui! The history of using seaweed (or “wakame”) in France is as long as that in Japan and other Asian countries, going all the way back to the late 15th century. Various kind of seaweed have been used for fish dishes, meat dishes, and appetizer dips. In fact, France is 4th biggest seaweed-producing country. Because St. Patrick's Day is coming up, we tried out the following recipe so that you can pair it with your favorite recipes. Add something extra to weeknight dinner or wow guests at your next party! In our version, we slightly toasted the wakame granules.
Ingredients
2 tbsp of roasted wakame
1/4 tsp of matcha
1 stick of salted butter
Sea salt to taste
Instructions
1. Slighty toast the wakame granules in a wok. Do not burn it. After you let it cool to room temperature, grind the granules in a spice grinder.
2. Transfer the powder to a bowl and add room temperature butter as well as the matcha.
3. Add sea salt to taste, and mix the ingredients well.
This wakame butter with matcha can be used as a dip for “spicy” vegetables like radish or turnip. But why stop there? Add it to pesto sauce for a pasta dish full of umami or use it on that perfectly-cooked piece of sirloin steak you’ve been dreaming about.
For our vegan friends out there, you can substitute the butter with olive oil, especially for pasta dishes.
Note! Because the main ingredient is seaweed, the aroma and taste of this butter is reminiscent of the sea. Some people love that, but some don’t, so if you don’t care for seafood, we totally understand! Simply use matcha mixed with another herb, or add garlic and lemon to the butter to balance the seaweed flavor, if you would still like to use the wakame. Even though this wakame butter has a subtle taste of the ocean, if you have a sensitive palate, you will recognize it.
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