Cold salad with shredded kelp, seaweed egg drop soup, seaweed slices...... These common delicacies on our tables are actually derived from the same ingredient - algae.
Don't look at their ordinari appearance, they are actually quite nutritious, rich in amino acids and vitamins, as well as a large number of bioactive substances, such as polysaccharides, sugar gums, oligosaccharides, polyphenols, ketones, terpenes, pigments, plant hormones and so on.
Let's talk about the specific nutritional value of different algae foods in detail~
kelp
Kombu is a regular at the table, and the cold salad has a crispy texture and the stewed soup is particularly delicious.
Fresh kelp has a high moisture content of more than 94%, an excellent potassium content of 246 mg/100 g, and a very low sodium content of only 8.6 mg/100 g.
As a food in the ocean, kelp naturally has a high iodine content of 2950 micrograms per 100 grams, and eating 20 grams of fresh kelp is already far more than the daily iodine requirement of the general population (120 micrograms), which is about 2 large kelp knots.
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Wakame
Wakame is known as the "king of seaweed" and looks like "Chinese cabbage" in the sea, so it is also called sea cabbage. It looks a bit similar to kelp, but it has a softer texture than kelp, the leaves are thinner than kelp, the color is relatively lighter, the taste is more tender, and it is easier to chew than kelp.
Wakame is a low-calorie, low-fat food, but also rich in polysaccharides, calcium content is more prominent, "Chinese Food Composition Table" shows that dried wakame calcium content is as high as 947 mg/100 grams, but its sodium content is not low, if the usual blood pressure is not well controlled, it is best to eat less.
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nori
Seaweed is also a common seaweed in life, at present, there are two main kinds of seaweed and seaweed on the market, of which seaweed is generally used to make seaweed chips, and seaweed is plated into a "circle" to cook soup.
Seaweed is still rich in nutrition, protein, vitamins, minerals, fat, dietary fiber, etc. The mineral iron content of dried seaweed is more prominent, 54.9 mg/100 grams, usually to make a seaweed egg drop soup, about 2 grams ~ 5 grams of dried seaweed (2g of dried seaweed in the picture below), if calculated according to 5 grams, the intake of iron is 2.7 mg, which is equivalent to spinach.
Seaweed is higher in glutamate and aspartic acid than kelp, so it tastes more delicious when used to make soups.
Image credit: Courtesy of the author
Hijiki
Many people may not know what the name "hijiki" is, but when it comes to "firecracker bamboo shoots", friends in the south may suddenly realize that this kind of algae is more common in hot pot, the taste is crisp and juicy, and it really looks like "firecrackers" in the mouth~
Hijiki is a kind of sargassum and is nutritionally rich in dietary fiber, polysaccharides, phytosterols, polyphenols, terpenoids, amino acids, trace elements, etc., among which the content of calcium, selenium and iodine is very good.
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spirulina
Spirulina is a type of cyanobacteria and an important source of microalgae.
Nutritionally, spirulina contains a variety of nutrients such as phycocyanin, polyphenols, carotenoids, vitamins and sterols, among which vitamin B group is excellent, such as vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B12, and is also rich in vitamin E.
Spirulina has been shown to contain 4 times more B12 than animal liver, which is good news for vegetarians; The β-carotene content in spirulina is 30 times higher than that of carrots, which is a good helper for office workers and student parties who often use their eyes; In terms of other trace elements, spirulina is rich in minerals such as iron, magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus, and its iron content is 20 times that of wheat, which sounds pretty good.
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However, spirulina is not common on our dinner table, and it often appears in our lives in the form of health supplements, such as spirulina powder and spirulina tablets. It should be noted that eating properly can supplement some nutrients for us, but don't replace medicines, don't expect to get some miraculous effects!
What kind of algae foods do you like to eat? How do you eat them? Welcome to chat in the comment area~
Source: Popular Science China