Cooking with Sea Spaghetti

Sea spaghetti has been used for centuries all over the world in coastal communities to act as both a rich carrier of vital nutrients and to bring its unique shape, texture and gently sweet flavour to the plate.

It has been termed ‘Spaghetti del Mar’ for its looks and easy use as a substitute for pasta, but it is probably best treated simply as a vegetable in anything from stews, soups, casseroles, salads, omelets, stir-fries, as a bed for a fish dish or deep-fried in batter or on its own and drizzled with lemon.

RAW

You can just eat it raw. Straight from the bag in dried form it tastes surprisingly like biltong (beef jerky) and has that same awesome chewy texture.

If you soak it for about 30 minutes it will swell up to 5 times its seize and weight, and turns a deep earthy green. It becomes soft with a slightly crunchy texture. Lovely in salads, or to add to rice dishes after cooking.

BOIL & STEAM

Boil it together with your ordinary spaghetti, or instead of! Boiling time varies on the level of tenderness. Like spaghetti, it gets softer the longer you boil it.

Effectively it can be boiled between 5-15 minutes. Alternatively steam it for 20-35 minutes until tender.

When steamed, it remains firmer than when cooked

STIR FRY

To stir fry, first soak it in tepid or cold water for 30 minutes until it has increased in size and becomes soft. Cut it in chunks and stir fry it for 5-10 minutes on medium heat.

DEEP FRY

Soak in water for 15 minutes and deep fry it until crisp, which will take very shortly, so keep an eye on it!

Happy exploring!