Shihuacai seaweed

Betaphycus gelatinus

seaweed

A gelling seaweed, long harvested on Hainan, in salted salad in China, in jellies, cakes and sweet soups in Vietnam.

Origin

East Asia, from Indonesia to southern Japan

Season (United States)

all year round

Preparation

Dried, it is rinsed and soaked for a few hours, then eaten in a dressed salad, or simmered until it melts and set into a jelly as it cools.

Molecules

Seaweed polysaccharides · Iodine

Did you know?

In China it is cultivated on a protected area of 250 hectares.