Ready To Go Full “Jelly”?
Here you go – the latest food trend – ready to give it a try?
It’s the new ingredient on menus around the world: Jellyfish! As you can see above, a jellyfish salad with sesame seeds looks inviting – because jelly fish is one of the hottest food crazes right now, and how about some jellyfish tempura?
That looks pretty tasty as well – Jellyfish are considered one of the “foods of the future” because they are plentiful and sustainable…first, let’s celebrate their beauty and wonder:
Yes, they look too beautiful and serene to actually eat, but in a world where sustainable food sources are under pressure, it is the wave of the future! Our oceans are full of Jellyfish, and they can help feed the world!
My wife Alex, son Jeff and I had a great Omakase meal at Sugarfish in Beverly Hills, and one of our early dishes was this marinated jellyfish dish:
Yes, it had a gelatinous mouth feel with a bit of a crunchy bite as well, but other than that it just had a slightly briny seawater feel – and it was great!
I was a bit guilty, since as I’ve shown you, I’ve seen jellyfish in all of their majesty – let’s go back again to the world famous Monterey Aquarium:
Jellyfish Are The Sustainable Seafood Of The Future!
With so many stories about the sustainability of sea life, it was interesting to read that jellyfish can replenish even when captured, as they leave new eggs along the ocean’s floor…so they are one of the more sustainable foods from the ocean!
This “shredded radish with jellyfish” recipe is another example of how to utilize jellyfish, and Chefs around the world have begun to experiment with more ways to serve it.
Here’s a recipe I found for “sesame jellyfish salad” on Food.com:
- 1⁄2lb jellyfish
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons Chinese white rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
- Rinse very well in cold water and drain. Put in a stainless steel bowl and cover with boiling water for 15 minutes or until tender. Then drain rinse with cold water for 6 minutes. If you are not using the jelly fish right away, you can soak in the frig, but change the water ever hour or so. Drain thoroughly and blot dry with paper towel.
- Mix soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, and sugar in a small bowl.
- Let sit 30 minutes.
- Just before serving, garnish with sesame seeds.
- You may heat this recipe if you like; just stir fry it in a wok about 3 minutes, but it is best served cold.
Thanks Food.com for a great recipe – check out more of what the have to offer!
A quick search online showed me many places to order Jellyfish to your house – I think I am going to try it!
I also found a great picture of a chicken salad with jellyfish – I think Jellyfish can be added to more traditional recipes to ease us into it – used as a new texture to traditional foods, while minimizing ingredients that aren’t as sustainable:
Of course, my wife and I visited the incredible Monterey Bay Aquarium in California, where they have the most amazing jellyfish exhibit:
By the way, they have an incrediblly wide array of sea life there, like this never-ending circle of fish:
You can click here to see more of that visit – the Monterey Bay Aquarium is one of the best in the world:
Most of the recipes for Jellyfish were Asian-flavored, perhaps due their willingness to try different things…like ramen buns!
Yes, a bun made from ramen noodles and I’ve eaten one and loved it!
See that here:
And if you are still thinking about ramen, how about his:
These scenes are from the great film “Tampopo” – a film that loves ramen noodles! Click here for recipes from the movie:
And finally, you may want to try ONE more ramen noodle dish, why not get it along with great Tempura! Check this out:
It’s a ramen and tempura bar in west Los Angeles – here’s a look at the menu:
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Let me know if you are ready to add jellyfish to your food repertoire!
Categories: Bite Eat Swallow, Bite! Eat! Repeat!, Cookbooks, Eat This!, Food, Food Travel, Food Writing, Recipes, Travel, Wacky Food, World's Wildest Food
Bite! Eat! Repeat! 
We saw the most incredible jellyfish at the Kaiyukan aquarium in Osaka. During that holiday we also ate a salad with fried jellyfish, but we were not impressed. Must give it a second try!
I would totally give jellyfish a try. Now, I tend to not like a gelatinous mouth feel, but I do like oysters, clams, etc. Maybe fried, would it be more like calamari? How I would love to eat my way through some of the very annoying, stinging sea nettles (small jellyfish) found in the Chesapeake Bay here. I wonder how they rate on health. I mean, are they bottom feeders? OK, you’ve really got me thinking. If we’re supposed to be eating all the water pests, like catfish and snakeheads, why not jellies!?
Yes, they have a deep fried version that I think would be a great way to give it a go! Love that question too now I want to know! Thanks for the great comment!
Thanks for all your fascinating material out here in the blogosphere!
I’d like to start with the fried ones as well !
I realy don’t fancy eating jellyfish at all. Plus there are outrages about the way that such creatures are being ‘farmed’ in the world now, starting with plans for huge octopus ‘farms’, and ideas for both squid and jellyfish ones to follow. Best wishes, Pete.
https://www.eurogroupforanimals.org/news/uncovering-horrific-reality-octopus-farming#:~:text=Although%2C%20if%20approved%2C%20the%20Canary,such%20as%20Mexico%20and%20Japan.
The alternative is to have the fast dwindling supply of fish go away completely. In Washington state the salmon runs are virtually gone now and farming is one way to fight back…no good solutions as we use up our natural resources…
Sad but true.
Well why not?! I’m up for trying jellyfish!
It’s all about finding new sustainable food sources, and I’ve eaten it three times and it was good each time – but breaded and fried will always win out on that score!