Seaweed Salad Rice Wraps with KimChi...

Say that title 5 times in a row...I dare you.  I can't...but can say that I simply devoured these.  Honestly, I don't know what it is with me but I get these cravings like a pregnant lady once in a while, and they come over me like a fury...and it's always salt.  Nothing really satisfies it except for seaweed...I've tried olives, a salty dish, or anything savory I can think of....in the end, my body needs iodine or the thyroid-supporting agents in glorious seaweed. And after a few tastes of this salad, I'm just in heaven.


You can eat the salad as is, but I love them in these handy dandy little pockets of love that I can dip in the kimchi sauce, or even a home-made peanut sauce.   I'm very very conservative about the sauce ingredients amounts (yes, 3/4 tablespoon!) because I want the tastes without a runny dressing....nothing in my book is more off putting than runny sauces oozing everywhere they're not supposed to....our of sandwiches or rolls.  If they're thick, like a peanut sauce, that's a different story...but if it's runny, it's just plain yucky...So here goes.

Seaweed Salad and dressing:

1 cup dried wakame seaweed

spring water

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

3/4 tablespoon tamari

1/2 inch piece of ginger, grated

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1 baby carrot, grated

1 tablespoons scallions, sliced(optional)

1/2 garlic clove, grated (optional)

For the rolls:

Any rice paper roll you can find (large or small)

2 tablespoons raw kimchi (or kimchee, since some spell it differently)

Before you start, soak the wakame in spring water (enough to cover and then some...) in a large bowl for 10 minutes.  It will reconstitute nicely and get plump and shiny.  Drain it and squeeze as much water as you can from the wakame, and place it back in the bowl.  Add all the dressing ingredients to the salad and mix.  Set aside.

Fill another bowl with spring water and submerge 1 rice paper sheet in the water...you can use your hands to move it around, or just leave it alone.  After about a minute or two, it should soften up.  You can either place this sheet flat on a sushi mat, or just on a cutting board.  On the bottom third of the sheet that's closest to your belly, add 1-2 tablespoons of the seaweed salad.  Use your fingers or the sushi mat to bring the paper edge and filling over itself to create and enclosure.  Bend the sides towards the middle, and then roll the rest of the sheet into a cylinder, making sure everything is tight and the contents are tucked in.  I promise, photos are coming soon...I know this procedure is a bit tricky to explain!  


Place the roll on a plate, with the seam on the underside.  Enjoy with kimchi.  This is GLORIOUS.