/ by Jonathan Ammons
Green Salt is a startup from Baja California that produces a salt alternative made from dehydrated Salicornia, also known as the sea asparagus. Often used as a flex garnish from high-end chefs, Salicornia is an absolute umami bomb, naturally salty and rich in flavor, a little bit goes a long way. And with 50% less sodium than salt, it makes for a fun swap for seasoning foods.
I’ve certainly found it to be best applied as a finishing salt.
Once you’ve cooked that perfect piece of fish or roasted that squash, instead of reaching for the salt grinder, add a dash of Green Salt on there to both cut down on the sodium while still maintaining the flavor. It amps up the umami elements of a dish quite nicely.
It’s a fun-colored topper for anything from popcorn to avocado toast, or even to add depth to a salad dressing. But I’ve found it plays best with Far East cuisine. Green Salt makes it easy to cut down on the amount of soy sauce required in Chinese, Japanese and Korean dishes without losing the body and flavor that soy sauce provides.
But be aware that, unlike salt, Green Salt doesn’t completely dissolve into a liquid the way regular salt does. So be prepared for a dustier coating on your foods. It is also suggested to use double the amount than you would if the goal is to maintain the same flavor.
My favorite dish that I came up with is what I call Swamp Ramen. Using a scratch-made, unseasoned chicken stock, I applied the Green Salt and cut down on soy sauce. The sea-weediness of the green salt plays really well with the garlic and ginger, and the vegetal nature of the flavor perfectly complements the nori as well. Green Salt imparts an amusingly swampy green color to the broth that clings brilliantly to the noodles.
Like any substitute, it would be hard to completely replace salt. Because it doesn’t dissolve, it won’t tenderize or fully infuse into meat or poultry, so you will still need to use salt for a roasted chicken or perfectly grilled steak. But it can be a great way to reduce the amount of sodium in a finished dish, particularly if your doctor is mentioning, like millions of other Americans, to eat less salt.
Here’s a ramen dish that takes great advantage of green salt.
Green salt dish
Swamp Ramen
2 cups scratch-made, unseasoned chicken or veggie stock
2 servings of ramen noodles
2 whole eggs
½ onion sliced
¼ cup broccoli chopped
2-4 baby Bella mushrooms, sliced
¼ cup green onions, sliced on a bias
2-3 pieces of nori
2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
1 tsp grated ginger
½ Tbsp Green Salt
Dash of soy sauce
To make the stock
Take the bones or carcass of a chicken and cover in water in a stockpot. Bring to a simmer, allowing it to simmer for up to 3-4 hours. Alternatively, use an instant pot, covering the bones and carcass with water, sealing and setting the pressure cooker to manual at 40 minutes. Strain and jar and refrigerate. Do not salt or season.
To make the ramen
Add several cups of stock to the pot along with the whole eggs in the shell and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes. Remove eggs from pot and run cold water over them until they are cool to the touch.
Dash in the smallest dash of soy sauce and add the green salt.
Add broccoli, mushrooms, onion, garlic, ginger, and noodles and cook for as long as the package suggests cooking the noodles. The rest of the veg will be done by then.
While that cooks, peel the eggs, placing one in each of the bowls in which you intend to serve.
Using chopsticks or tongs, separate the noodle and veg portions into each bowl, topping with the stock. Be sure to taste the stock to make sure it is properly seasoned. Garnish with green onions, nori, and togarashi if you like it spicy.
/ Photography by Forrest Clonts
