As it gets hotter, we think of grilling more and more. The idea of spice rubs, shakes, and seasonings is an ongoing topic of discussion. Recently, we were looking for another medium to carry flavors, and in noodling around, we came up with the term seaweed shake. And the creation began. We took nori, wakame, hijiki, dulse, and smoked kombu and ground them into a fine powder. We added dried and candied lemon and ginger left over from one of Aki’s cordial preparations. Finally, we added smoked paprika, grains of paradise, nutmeg, and salt. We ground everything together in our Vita-Prep. The result was a wonderful blend of seasonings with layers of flavor and evolving aromas.
Initially, I had hoped to use the shake with seafood, but we happened to have giant rib-eye steaks on hand and gave that a first application. The results were incredible. Now we are exploring other uses for the seaweed shake, from the obvious seafood choices to the not-so-obvious fish ribs. And, of course, pasta will be made because everything seems to taste good in a pasta dough. Also, the seafood shake will add intense flavor to a seafood-based baked bean dish, risotto, and marinated sea urchin. And let’s not forget the vegetables, from corn on the cob to sunchokes. And as I write and think about our shake, I realize that it is not a far stretch from the blended rice seasonings with seaweed, sesame, salt, sugar, and dried seafood that are available in any Asian market, only better because we made it ourselves.
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