I used to hate seaweed. There aren't many things I don't like, but I've always tried to avoid seaweed and buckwheat porridge. I recently changed my attitude towards seaweed, however, when I was asked to be a guide and translator for some ornithologists. I took them to a bird ringing station in the mountains between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. We had planned to stay there for four days and as soon as we arrived I explained that I was vegetarian. 'No problem.' they said, 'We've run out of meat anyway.'
Dinner was great - fried potatoes with salad followed by tea with cakes and biscuits. The next morning, however, young Arman appeared at the breakfast table with plates of omlette and I felt a little embarrassed explaining that I didn't eat eggs. He took it well but appeared a little confused. 'There are so many different kinds of vegetarian.' he said. Too true.
Ten minutes later, Arman had rustled up an alternative to the omlette - seaweed salad. I gave him a big smile and ate the lot, smiling as I chewed. He decided that as I liked the salad for breakfast so much I would appreciate it again for lunch and the funny thing was, I did.
Arman's salad was a simple mixture of mayonnaise, chopped onion and seaweed. At lunch I added a handful of peanut kernels which I thought made it even better and when I got home I tried the recipe again, complicating it even further by the addition of some chopped cucumber.
I wonder when I'll have to face up to buckwheat porridge.
Ingredients
1 tin of cooked seaweed
1 small onion
1 small cucumber
A handful of peanut kernels
A couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise
Peel and chop the onion and cucumber. The peanuts can go in whole, chopped or crushed - as you like. Mix everything together and you have your salad. Pryatnovo appetita!
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