Nettie's

Agar is a vegetarian source of gelatin made from seaweed. It is sold as flakes, powder, and in bars or sticks. It is colourless, odorless and tasteless. It dissolves best in hot liquids and gels faster with refrigeration. I use it in desserts, puddings, aspics, salads and fillings.

Wakame is a dark green sea vegetable. To reconstitute, soak it until soft, usually 15 minutes. Drain saving the soaking water for soup. Wakame will swell to about 5 times its dry size. After soaking, cut out the central rib. Chop the rib very fine and cut the soft part of the leaf into bite […]

Nori (aka laver) is a sea vegetable that has been dried and pressed into sheets. It is used to wrap rice balls or as the exterior covering of sushi rolls (Japanese raw fish rolls). High quality nori sheets are greenish-black in colour. Nori is often crumbled or cut into strips and used as a garnish. […]

Kombu is an essential ingredient in the making of Japanese soup stock called Dashi. A strip of kombu cooked with water releases glutamic acid and mineral salts which contribute a lot of flavour to your stock. Do not wipe away the white powdery coating. It is sold dried in flat sheets or in strips. I […]

Vegetable stock is not just for vegetarians. Whether making a spicy Asian curry, a broth-y Mediterranean soup or a hearty vegetable stew, broths make a delicious base by adding flavour from the very beginning. Broth keeps for 5 days in the refrigerator. I freeze this vegetable stock in an old-fashioned ice cube tray. Each cube […]