Yesterday for our lunch we made some seaweed salad. It was really good. Here in our household we mostly make the Guso (not sure what the English word for it) kind of seaweed. The looks its like young branches of the tree without the leaves and colored green. Blanch it or boil water and put the guso on a strainer/colander and just pour the boiled water over it for just few minutes and wash it right away with water to cool it so that it would not be overcooked. Put that aside. On a separate bowl cut some onions, bell pepper, lemon or calamansi. Add about a cup of vinegar, salt & pepper. You can also add some other veggies to it like cucumber, radish and shredded carrots. Some people will add the radish directly. For us we had some other thing to do first with the radish. On a separate bowl, we slice the radish so thinly, then put about 2 tbsp of rock salt in it and kind of squeeze in the process to let out the bitter juice in it. Do it twice and washit with water and give it a squeeze again to let the water out. You can dab it with paper towel too. Mix all the ingredients together and serve. Its just like how you make the kinilaw or ceviche. Just without the fish.
Another kind of seaweed is the Lato. It’s commonly used in the Japanese restaurant here for relish with the raw fish they serve like sushi and sashimi. Every time I ordered sashimi here in the Japanese place they always had lato on the side. I ate it with the wasabi and the kikkoman sauce. Its really good though. It goes well with the shredded radish and some carrots too. The texture of lato is just like an 8th size of a grape and with like water inside, when you bite it, its crunchy and its like a bag of water that burst. You can also add the same ingredients just like with the guso. Just don’t blanch the lato or it will be saggy. Just clean it and really wash it with cold water. I like lato a lot too. Bob and the kids don’t eat seaweed. 😉
Another seaweed is the Lukot. It’s feels like the angel pasta when the pasta were cooked. Brownish green colored and it doesn’t look appetizing to me. That’s the seaweed I don’t eat. I tried it once and made me gag. Honestly it taste okay. I just can’t look at it for a long time. I’m not gonna say what it looks like. Some people really like this kind of seaweed. It’s just not for me though.
When I was in the States I can’t remember if I’ve seen some seaweed there before. There might be I was just not looking for it before. I’ve seen some chef in the States on TV now using seaweed especially with the Japanese cuisine. I think it’s mostly used and eaten here in Asia. I am just familiar with the 3 kinds (guso, lato & lukot) commonly used here in our area, I think the Northern part of the Philippines eat it too.
Have you tried one of the 3 seaweed here in the Philippines? Do you like it? Let me know what you think.
Cheers!
Hi Feyma
Seaweed is also eaten in Britain. Two I have heard of are Laver and Samphire.Laver is also used in a bread.
I have not tried them, I live a long way from the coast.
Best wishes
Marjorie
Hi Marjorie – The seaweed in Britain is it same looks and textures as ours here in the Philippines? Just wondering because the seaweed they have there might be from somewhere here in Asia.
Thank you for stopping by. Take care!
Hi Feyma
I have not actually eaten the seaweed but it is grown on the coast round here. The samphire is found mainly on the east coast of England, mostly the county of Norfolk.
Laver is broad leaved and samphire has leaves like a cross. Samphire is steamed as a vegetable but laver is used in a sauce or cooked to a pulp and this is called laver bread. According to my recipe book it goes well with lamb or mutton.
The laver bread can be mixed with oatmeal and made into litle flat cakes and fried.
Hope these explanations help a little.
Best wishes to you and the family
Marjorie
Hi Feyma – Here in Ilocos Norte, we enjoy a great seaweed salad made with seaweed called “pukpuklo,” tomato and garlic. Only need to wash and rinse the pukpuklo to get rid of any sand or dirt, toss in the other two and great times! 😉
Hi PaulK – I wonder what kind do you have in your area. I am not familiar of the pukpuklo your talking about. It could be one of what we have here just different names.
I’m glad you enjoyed eating the seaweed. Keep eating more… 😉
Take care Paul!
Hi Feyma – Was at a birthday party/picnic today and “loaded up” on pukpuklo and ar-arosep (lato, I believe). Great party, great food, great seaweed!
Here’s a link to a couple of pictures of pukpuklo:
http://pinakbet.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/fresh-pokpoklopukpuklo-salad/
MMmmmmmm! 😀
There you go…ar arosep and pupuklo, I guess they’re Ilokano words. I love them. When I go to Kabalen restaurant I pig out on them. I am taking an assignment in Tuguegarao, Apr – May, and would like to swing your way Laoag, Vigan etc. Maybe we can meet.
Hi Alex – Unfortunately, we’ll be in the USA for some family business during that time (end of March for about 3-4 months).
You can still come up this way, though! A great Ilocano restaurant in Laoag City is “Saramsam” located on Rizal St. (any tricycle or calesa driver knows the way!). They have seaweed and plenty of other Ilocano delicacies.
Feyma, when I visited the Philippines for the first time, my soon to be wife brought me some lato. It sounded like something horrible to eat, as I am not much of a “veggie man” but I was shocked at how good it was! Living here has definitely opened new horizons to me, food wise, as I even eat bar-b-que chicken intestines now.
Come on Bob, try some seaweed, it good for you!
Hi Dave Keiser- Good that your a lato eater now. It shocked me that your eating bbq chicken intestines. Wow, your braver than me because I don’t eat those stuff. Hey good for you. For sure you’ll be okay living here. 😉
>>>>Come on Bob, try some seaweed, it good for you!<<<<
Ha ha ha…
Thank you so much for stopping by. Nice to see you here!
As I told Feyma the other day… she is factually incorrect. I do eat seaweed. I eat the seaweed that is used to make sushi rolls…. 😉
Ha ha ha… 😉 🙂
Hi Fem,
Seaweed reminds me of my hometown Puerto Princesa , Palawan.
I have visited some of the small island like the Cuyo, Palawan.
Coron, Palawan-and there it amazed me that we in the Philippines
got a variery of seaweed not only one., there’s a lot
of them in different shapes and appearances.
It helps prevent goiter as told by many folks from that places.
Its highly recommended to regulary include seaweed in your meal.
More power!
Merdy
Hi Merdy – Are the seaweeds you saw in Palawan all edible? Palawan is one place I would like to visit and see here in the PI. I’ve heard good thing about it since high school, from you. 😉
That’s what they say that seaweed helps prevent goiter. My helper before tried to eat more seaweed it and it might have helped her goiter not to grow more.
Hey good to see you here classmate. Take care and keep reading.
Hi Feyma
I have eaten Guso with coconut milk,vinigar and spices at my wife’s families place in Bohol last summer and enjoyed it. Have also eaten Lato,I like to call them sea grapes,prepared the same way as described in your article. Since we live in Alberta,on the Canadian Prairies,the only sea weed we get here is on the sushi rolls in the resturants or buying it dry from Asian stores.
I enjoy trying something new and generally enjoyed Philippine food.
Hi Murray – Hmm, seaweeds with coconut milk? Something to try now in our household. Good that you like the seaweeds and Filipino food.
Not sure how fresh the seaweeds that sold in an Asian store in Canada? The seaweeds its good to eat when its fresh.
Thank you so much for your nice comment. Keep reading. Take care!
Wow friend,
You just made me hungry. miss the sound, it popped in your mouth, so yummy guso and lato eaten with sinugbang pork belly yum, yum…
Hi Ann – I’m always making you hungry. Sorry my friend. I have to talk about food in the Philippines sometimes. 😉 I know a lot of our kababayan missed a lot of the food here.
At least you can eat the pork belly there. Just imagine the lato with it then. 😉
Happy to see you my friend. Take care and God bless!
I love eating seaweeds, the different kinds. I remember reading or hearing, “ararosip” and “popoklo”, I’m not sure which kinds they are. Just blanch and serve with vinegar. I look forward eating to them when I go back in April.
Hi AlexB – Good for you. Honestly I don’t know the kind you are talking about. That must be the kind of seaweeds that grow in the northern part of Luzon since I heard it from PaulK too.
Don’t worry when you come to visit in April still lots of seaweed there in your area. I am pretty sure that we have seaweeds in the Philippines all year long.
Have fun and good eating on your visit.
Thank you for stopping by here on LIP. Take care!
Hi Feyma- I thought for one minute after reading your post that you had put Bob on a diet hahaha! The only way would be to have a sirloin steak on one side of his plate and a portion of fries on the other side along with the salad in the middle and that would really be a balanced diet.
The Japanese are the big eaters of seaweed I believe.
Regards.
Jim.
Hi Jim – Ha ha ha. You gave me the best idea there. 😉
Yeah, I think Japanese eats a lot of seaweed.
Take care Jim. Good to see you here. Hi to Marilou for me.
I had seaweed the other day with a church youth group, then, at the mall. The seaweed at the mall I had was the same as the church youth groups. But, I enjoyed the churches’ seaweed more than the one at the mall . I cannot think of a different that made one better tasting than the other though. Maybe freshness.
Hi Jawz – Good thing you are trying some foods here. I wonder which of the seaweed you tried?
Nice to see you here! Take care!
Hi Feyma and all,
“Guso” is actually called agar-agar and there are several varieties of it. What Paul showed “Pukpuklo” is the same thing but a different variety. Agar-agar is what is usually used nowadays as a binder it can be found on almost all processed food products, cosmetic, etc.
“Lato” is Caulerpa and the “Lukot” is not actually a seaweed. I thought it was a seaweed too until i’ve seen where it came from. It’s some kind of eggnest of a certain sea cucumber but until now i can’t find what kind is it and i’m not even sure if it is indeed a sea cucumber as it looks somewhat like a sea slug too.
Hi Rey – Yes those names are from the Northern part of Luzon.
Good to know as I’ve always thought it was a seaweed. Thanks for the info though.
Thank you for stopping by here. Take care!
yup…seaweeds has many benefits because of its position and place…the ocean!An unlimited source of minerals and anything that is good to be true. Consider these some of the studies says that eating seaweed can be good for those who want to lose their weight, prevention in heart attack, breast cancer/stomach cancer…it is high in Folic acid that helps breaks chemicals that causes heart attack, it is also an excellent source of minerals, B vitamin, magnesium, calcium, iron and vitamin c. Can help in prevention of birth defects and for stress relief. AND SO ON AND SO FORTH…but like many things too much is also bad so you also have to control your consumption. Lukot by the way is not a seaweed its a secretion of a sea cucumber or I don’t know what that is…but locally its know as the poop. But yummy if you try if into a fish soup also known as tinolang isda…nice site..like it