I know that seaweed is a superfood for skin, hair and health, and I am no stranger to it as an ingredient. But I didn’t realise that seaweed could taste so amazingly fresh and delicious until I tried the dishes from PUTIEN’s all-new “First Harvest Seaweed” seasonal menu.
Specialising in Fujian cuisine, PUTIEN hardly requires any introduction. Every year, PUTIEN will feature a special ingredient for their seasonal menus.
This time round, PUTIEN imported freshly harvested seaweeds from Wheat Island, a remote fishing village 50 kilometres from Putian city in Fujian, China.
So what is so special about these seaweeds?
First, there is the location. At Wheat Island, the seaweeds are grown in pristine, pollution-free, nutrient-rich seawater; so the seaweed there are bound to be top-notch in quality.
Second, the seaweeds are imported fresh, unlike the usual seaweeds that we get in Singapore, which are dried before being shipped out to us. (No, seriously, you don’t know what you are missing out on until you’ve tasted fresh seaweed.)
And third, PUTIEN’s seaweeds are not your usual seaweeds — they are “first harvest seaweeds”.
Now, seaweed can actually be harvested throughout the year, but the ideal harvesting period for seaweed is limited to only one week per year. Seaweeds harvested during this season are of the highest quality and are only available in limited quantities.
So what PUTIEN is serving you in their new seasonal menu is the crème de la crème of seaweeds.
The king of seaweeds.
The superhero of seaweeds.
You get what I mean.
So let me show you the seaweed dishes that PUTIEN is offering in their seasonal menu.
Seaweed with Dried Shrimps ($7.50)
Unlike the other dishes featured in the seasonal menu, this refreshing starter is actually on PUTIEN’s menu all year round, and is in fact one of PUTIEN’S all-time most popular dishes.
But as we all know, there is only one ideal harvesting period every year, and this time of the year is when the quality of the seaweed is at its best.
A cold salad made up of fresh seaweed with red-tail baby shrimps, the first thing that struck me about this starter is the beautifully refreshing taste of vinegar that truly whets your appetite and prepares you for what is to come.
Do not mistake this for your average Japanese seaweed salad. PUTIEN’s version uses real, high quality seaweed. The incredibly smooth texture of the seaweed combines with the slight crunch of the little shrimps to make this one of the best seaweed salad I’ve ever had.
Seaweed with Oyster Soup ($15.80)
The concept of using seaweed in soup is hardly foreign to us. We see it in Japanese food, in Korean food, and some of us are quite familiar with it in our home-cooked Chinese food — probably because seaweed soup is a traditional dish in Putian, Fujian.
PUTIEN slow-boils its seaweed soup with fresh oysters, and let me tell you — the combination is ingenious!
What we get is a soup that is beautifully light, fresh and sweet.
Personally, I think that the soup is already tasty on its own, and I love it the way it is. But if you want to enhance the flavours further and give a touch of richness to the soup, you can also add a dash of vinegar to it.
PUTIEN Stewed Seaweed ($16.80)
This dish, to me, is comfort food, and that is why it is one of my favourites in the menu.
Using slow-boiled chicken broth as the base, the First Harvest Seaweeds are stewed with high quality yam and pork belly for 30 minutes to bring out the essence of the seaweeds.
The generous serving of the top-notch seaweed is the main highlight of the dish, but that delicious chicken broth base? Whoa, it’s seriously yum.
Seaweed Omelette ($9.90)
This omelette, as well as the soup, truly brings out the freshness of the First Harvest Seaweed.
It is actually similar to oyster omelette, but instead of the few miserly oysters that hawkers often give, this omelette is full of high quality, yummy seaweed.
To make the omelette crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, the chef at PUTIEN skilfully pan-fries the omelette with strong fire for a few minutes.
Tip: Eat this with PUTIEN’s insanely good homemade chilli sauce!
Meizhou Claypot Rice with Seaweed ($11.90)
What is distinctive about this claypot rice is that pearl rice is used.
The rice is braised in seaweed and oyster soup, and since pearl rice has the ability to absorb the essence of the soup base, the claypot rice ends up being extremely fragrant.
Some glutinous rice is added to the dish to give the claypot rice its distinctive stickiness.
If you love a hearty meal, you’ll love this.
Keen to try out some of these delicious seaweed dishes yourself ? Head to your nearest PUTIEN outlet now!
PUTIEN’s First Harvest Seaweed Menu is available at all PUTIEN outlets from now till December 2016 or mid-January 2017, depending on the quality of import as the harvest period ends.
Don’t miss it!
(Image Credits (from top): PUTIEN and PUTIEN Restaurant Facebook)
Comments