Yesterday I wanted to make miso soup for my family. The first part of the process is softening the kombu so I plucked a few sheets of it from the package in the cupboard and set it to boiling on the stove. Then I headed to the fridge for the miso paste, tofu, and scallions. That’s when I realized I wouldn’t be making miso soup that morning. The scallions that had been in the fridge the day before had mysteriously vanished. No scallions, no miso soup. So I tabled that idea, and the question then became, what to do with the boiling seaweed.
I figured it wouldn’t hurt the kombu any to let it sit overnight. I could make the miso the following day. And that’s what I did this morning. Doing so, I realized that I had too much seaweed. I was left with two large sheets of it. I’d read somewhere about frying it up so I put some oil in a pan and sautéed a leaf until it was crispy. My toddler Pinta was running about so I offered her a taste. She like it. Nina was watching, and I like to make a habit of offering her everything that I offer to her sister. I said to Nina who loves bacon, “Would you like some sea bacon?”
Nina tried a bit and then politely rejected it. Pinta, for her part was clamoring for more. Nina saw this and changed her mind. She wanted more, too. The sea bacon was a hit. I quickly fried up the other piece and fed it to them before breakfast. They loved it.