If you’ve ever had packaged seaweed peanuts, you know the combination is irresistible! The peanuts and green sea moss both have a delicious umami and are a match made in heaven.
An Important Recipe to Document
This classic Ningbo (宁波) dish is slowly disappearing from restaurant menus in China, but home-cooks like myself are not willing to let it go. I knew that we absolutely needed to document it on The Woks of Life. After a recent visit to China, we decided that now is the time to put it out there! Ningbo is not far from Shanghai, where I grew up, and I have many memories of enjoying this seaweed with peanuts. It has a special hold on me, not to mention that it tastes great. Sarah doesn’t always like seaweed, but she chomps on these sea moss peanuts like no one’s business.
Tai Tiao, a Special Type of Seaweed
The correct type of seaweed to use in this dish is known as 苔条 (tái tiáo) in Chinese. We have seen it translated into English as sea moss and “branched string lettuce,” a type of seaweed algae that can be found around the world. It is a coastal specialty in the coastal city of Ningbo, in Zhejiang Province. It is often manually harvested in the winter and spring, by hand-picking them off of ocean stones along the shoreline. The seaweed resembles mats of fine hair. Once harvested, it is then hand-washed in the ocean salt water to get rid of sand and impurities, then sun-dried on the beach on bamboo poles. This keeps the seaweed fresh, and the briny, salty flavor from the seawater gives it a unique and addictive taste. This type of seaweed has a particular fragrance and salty flavor after being dried, and it keeps well. I brought back some from Shanghai during this past trip, and I will cherish it until I’ve used it all up!
Recipe Notes
Do not wash the sea moss. Simply cut the threads into ½- to 1-inch (2cm) long pieces, then pull each section apart into thin stings. At the same time, closely examine the dried sea moss and get rid of any dirt, pebbles, or small dried sea creatures if there are any. Good quality sea moss will usually be very clean, so you may not have anything to pick out. The smaller pieces of seaweed will better absorb the oil and release their flavor. Also, the texture will be much improved. Each bite will be crunchy, without biting into hard chunks. Some recipes call for sugar to offset the saltiness from the sea moss, but if you control the sea moss quantity in a recipe, there is no need to add sugar. There is no need to add any salt to this. The salty and umami flavor of the seaweed is enough.
Recipe Instructions
Place the peanuts in a colander, and rinse. Shake off any excess water, and spread them out in a single layer to air-dry for at least 30 minutes. In a wok or wide, deep skillet over medium-low heat, add the oil and the peanuts. Gently and slowly push the peanuts around to heat them evenly and prevent burning. (You must use cold oil and low heat throughout the process, or the peanuts may burn.) As the oil heats up slowly, you will first see small bubbles in the oil, then some steam coming as the moisture in the peanuts cooks off. Stir continuously until you hear the peanuts start to make popping noises (like much quieter popcorn). Once that happens, stir-fry for 1 more minute. This should take about 10 minutes total. Remove the peanuts from the oil, and set them aside. The peanuts will continue to cook as they cool. Cut the seaweed threads into ½- to 1-inch (2cm) long pieces, then pull each section apart into thin strings. At the same time, closely examine it and make sure it’s clean. Add the shortened seaweed strips to the oil left in the wok, and continuously stir-fry using the lowest heat setting. The seaweed will slowly absorb the oil and become crispy. Once it all looks coated with oil and smells fragrant, turn off the heat. Add the peanuts back to the wok, and stir to combine. Serve!
