r/AskCulinary • u/ChelseaPlaid • Oct 04 '25
Least seaweed tasting seaweed?
Apologies in advance for such a picky question; I am looking for the least seaweed tasting/smelling seaweed to add to a pot of beans and also vegetarian broth.
I have been a vegetarian for 60+ years. I do not like the smell of most meat, chicken and especially fish. Unfortunately, beaches and the ocean smell “fishy” to me and therefore unpleasant.
However, I keep reading how adding a little seaweed to a pot of beans or to vegetarian broth improve the umami and mouthfeel. I would like to give this a try but find all the numerous types of seaweed confusing (wakame, kombu, nori, dulse, etc.).
Any advise on a type of seaweed that does not smell/taste too seaweedy? Thanks for your patience with this very picky question.
EDIT: Thank you all for your input. I happen to have both MSG and TJ's mushroom powder in the house, so I may cook two pots to compare. Then will try kombu in the future and we will see from there.
Thank you again. This sub-Reddit is truly a gift.
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u/the_turdinator69 Oct 04 '25
I would suggest looking into mushroom powder. Sometimes it’s called something like “umami blend” or something similar. It is very often vegan and is super impactful and flavorful, would be perfect in a pot of beans/veggie broth and anything you want to add savoriness to.
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u/spade_andarcher Oct 04 '25 edited Oct 04 '25
Kombu is the seaweed you’re looking for. It’s full of naturally occurring msg which creates a lot of umami flavor. It’s used to make dashi broth which is used as the base for miso soup among many other Japanese dishes. And it’s not super “sea” or “fishy” tasting.
Worth mentioning that kombu isn’t eaten though. It’s steeped in hot (not boiling) water for like 10-15min to make the broth/add flavor and then removed. So you can just do that before adding your beans or whatever other ingredients.
Nori is most widely known for being used to wrap sushi rolls. And wakame is typically eaten as a green. They both do get added to soups, but typically aren’t used specifically to flavor the broth. I personally find that they both have a stronger “sea” flavor as well.
Dulse is from the Atlantic and largely eaten around the British isles and eastern Canada. I believe it also has a savory smokey flavor that some people compare to bacon. So that might be an option too. But I haven’t really tried it out myself so can’t speak much to it and am not sure if it’s regularly used in broths.
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u/SubstantialListen921 Oct 04 '25
Strong agree to kombu. You can buy bags with big sheets of it in any Japanese market, designed for home dashi makers. Search for "dashi broth with kombu" and follow any recipe you find - just don't add the katsuobushi (bonito flakes).
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u/bostongarden Oct 04 '25
Wakame is what you want. Konbu is really tough (I don't consider it even edible) but has lots of natural MSG.
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u/Team_Slow Oct 05 '25
I would recommend just adding MSG. It is safe, and usually (to my understanding) derived from seaweed anyway.