Sea grapes / umibudo

Caulerpa lentillifera, C. racemosa

seaweed

A green seaweed in bunches of tiny pearls that pop between the teeth, briny and fresh; raw, just rinsed, with a dipping sauce. It provides iodine and seaweed polysaccharides.

Origin

Okinawa and Southeast Asia

Season (United States)

all year round

Preparation

It is rinsed in cold water just before serving and eaten raw, dipped in a sauce (ponzu, vinegar); it is not cooked and does not go in the fridge, where it shrivels.

Molecules

Seaweed polysaccharides · Iodine

Did you know?

In the Philippines it is called lato; in Okinawa, umibudō, “sea grapes”.