Seaweed

Salmoriglio is a Mediterranean sauce with herbs, garlic, and olive oil. In this version, kelp is used as the base of the sauce.

Bugak is the ideal light beer snack: It’s crunchy, salty, and the fresher it’s made, the better. Thin sheets of kimchi add an extra spicy savory layer.

You know those little packs of roasted nori sheets? Along with a little touch of sugar, they make the perfect topping for popcorn.

Japanese cuisine tends to be mild on the whole, but this noodle soup, piri kara soba, has a real kick to it.

Kombu and katsuobushi (bonito flakes) come together in an umami-rich dashi with a complex, deep flavor.

Shichimi togarashi is a seven-spice blend that can season soups, noodles, grilled foods, rice, or salads.

This salty-sweet kimbap—filled with maple-candied spam and herbaceous perilla leaves—is wonderful in a packed lunch or even at a picnic.

Savory, warming miso soup is a Japanese mainstay, commonly enjoyed for breakfast alongside rice, eggs, fish, and pickles.

The collar is one of my favorite parts of the fish. Baste it with naturally sweet and salty flavor from briny kombu and dark sweet prunes. The briny and sweet sauce is easy to make ahead and store in the refrigerator. The collars of a large fish, such as cod, is the part between the head and the body; it has a (healthy omega-3) fatty richness that is ultra-satisfying. 

This summer soup is deeply savory, with anchovies, bacon, and a brown butter–tomato sauce anchoring the whole thing. 

This versatile dashi has earthiness, depth, and is full of glutamates from shiitake mushrooms, dashima seaweed, and dried anchovies.

I serve these pickles like a salad as a side with ramen noodles, gyoza (fried dumplings), or shumai (steamed dumplings), or with a sandwich. 

These savory Japanese pancakes are stuffed with shredded cabbage, red pepper, and your choice of meat or seafood. Top with crumbled seaweed, bonito flakes, and mayo for the full experience.

A ginger and coconut aminos dressing brings together this healthful salad of crunchy cucumbers and toothsome seaweed.

Onigiri is a quintessential Japanese food: made by moms for breakfast, lunch boxes, and picnics. It is the ideal handheld food (the nori wrapper keeps the sticky rice from getting all over your hand).

Layering salmon between sheets of kombu is an easy way to gently cure it, drawing in salt and umami-depth.

Sticky rice is worth using for this porridge-y, comforting chicken soup recipe; it releases lots of creamy starches and helps builds nice body as it cooks.

This green pesto owes its intense and powerful flavor to the use of kombu. It’s such an easy recipe that you can experiment with the ingredients as much as you like. The arugula and basil, for instance, can be substituted with any leafy green of your choice. And the pine nuts can be replaced by any other type of nut, such as cashews or hazelnuts. You can even use sunflower seeds! Serve the pesto on crackers, on a grilled vegetable sandwich, or with a bowl of pasta.

Sometimes all your body wants is a vacation from intense eating. That's where this feel-good (but fill-you-up) broth comes in.

A robust soup brimming with mixed vegetables and protein in a rich dashi broth, this one-pot stew is eaten by Japanese wrestlers in training. It’s wonderfully hearty without being heavy.

This is the kind of healthy, satisfying food that we all wish would simply materialize at home for dinner. But making it in parts is easier than you might think!