・In rare cases, a white powder may appear on the product. This derives from the natural ingredients and does
not affect the quality.
・The Suji-Aonori used in this product is obtained from a habitat shared by shrimp and crabs.
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The Hidden Charm of Suji-Aonori
"The most unique seaweed I have ever encounted"
Navigator: Shui Ishizaka
Shui Ishizaka
Shui Ishizaka, born in Melbourne, raised in Sydney. Winner of the Australian U30 culinary competition "Appetite For Excellence Young Chef of the Year," he took charge of culinary development as sous chef at Tokyo’s INUA restaurant, a two-Michelin-star winner in 2018.
Experimenting in Sea Vegetable’s test kitchen, he has uncovered the previously unknown taste profiles of more than 100 varieties of seaweed.He has also been participating in menu development for this spring’s "Noma Kyoto" pop-up.
It was around November of 2020 when I first met with members from Sea Vegetable. I remember that I brought some dried Suji Aonoris to the kitchen.
When I first ate it, I thought it was freshly made. The Suji-Aonori that I ate before was never awkward, but I didn't know when it was processed and how long they were placed on the shelves. However I still remember the moment when I was astonished by Sea Vegetable's Suji-Aonori.
The purely delicate and refreshing fragrance.
To test out the Suji-Aonori, the first thing I did was to use the raw Suji-Aonori.
From my personal point of view, dried Suji Aonori was like a canvas that was already painted in some colors. As most painters start their drawing with a blank canvas, the raw Suji-Aonori was something similar to such a state.
My first attempt was to use the Suji Aonori as a supportive ingredient rather than as a main ingredient.
This is because most Aonori are used as a sprinkler to embellish the meal rather than as a main dish. To make Suji-Aonori something common, I researched various ways to discover the potential of this amazing ingredient.
This led me to a conclusion to use Suji-Aonori as a seasoning; a basic one that can be used at homes and even for professionals.
The scent of Suji Aonori is remarkably pleasant even in its raw state. To enrich this, I pivoted my attention to using oil. First of all, I thought of making an original oil using Suji-Aonori. This went really well more than I expected.
Since I used rice oil at that time, I shifted my method to use animal oil by using butter. I figured out that the spread of the fragrance is completely different and delicious when using animal oil.
This made me realize that Suji-Aonori perfectly matches all dairy products, triggering me to try out milk this time.
There it was. A milk beautifully flavored with Suji-Aonori. This was incredibly delicious: I was about to have a supernova explosion in my head.
My mind was overthrown by this experience. I thought that Aonori is limited to Japanese cuisine like Okonomiyaki or Takoyaki that will never match with Italian or French cuisine.
But milk is a world-wide ingredient. Mixing and liquidating with milk will definitely expand the potential of Suji-Aonori. Who would ever imagine that seaweed is in it?
The next thing I made was Suji-Aonori mixed ice cream.
The point I want to make is to not just surprise people with the uniqueness of Suji-Aonori ice cream, but to enchant people with the delicious taste of it.
Naturally, if you think of Suji-Aonori ice cream, you might imagine it as a normal vanilla or milk flavor ice cream with Aonori sprinkled on it. But it is actually more elaborate. Freezing the Suji-Aonori milk creates a luxurious taste; with more umami, with more saltiness.
The color of the ice cream is just as yellow-green like Matcha ice cream. But it definitely has a taste that can never catch up with Matcha. I’ve been eating matcha ice cream a lot when I came to Japan, but I’m confident that Aonori ice cream is much more delicious.
Since then, I’ve been testing out the Suji-Aonori milk with various sweets, like cookies, tiramisu, and etc.
Mascarpone and Ricotta, fresh cheese was fascinating to test out too. I’m now thinking of making cheese with fermented Suji-Aonori milk. Camambert cheese sounds good too.
I also made Miso and other dishes that require fermentation with Suji-Aonori.
Suji-Aonori always fascinated me with its applicability and transformation. Actually, I tried the same thing with other seaweeds, but there were many that did not work.
Then I realized how Suji-Aonori was the most unique seaweed in the whole world. It was the first seaweed that I have ever confronted.
However, for raw Suji-Aonori, you need to add a little extra care to make it edible. Whether or not it tastes good or not depends greatly on the knowledge and skill of the person using it.
So if Sea Vegetable skillfully dries the Suji-Aonori, it will definitely become a revolutionary ingredient that is easy to use.
Risotto is absolutely delicious for Suji-Aonori. You can either mix the Aonori at the end or sprinkle it on top. Pan-fried fish with butter will be delicious too.
Dried suji-ao nori has the power to easily embellish the dish; whether it is through the smell or the delicate fine taste. It enhances the dish just by simply sprinkling it on top.
So in this sense, I think Japan was smart to use Suji-Aonori in potato chips or Okonomiyaki. But I still believe that there is more we can do. We should not underestimate the potential in Suji-Aonori.
Recipes
Here are some simple recipes that can be made at home
Daisuke Okada's blog introducing "Suji-Aonori'
Mr. Okada, Sushi chef, introduced "Suji-Aonori"
