Northern California’s Delicious Edible Sea Lettuce (Recipe Included!)

Sea Lettuce is a type of delicious seaweed that grows all the way down the West Coast. It pops up annually, giving avid seaweed foragers ample opportunity to collect some and try it out at home. You can find it growing on rocks, mollusks, and wood in intertidal and subtidal areas. 

As a food, Sea Lettuce is a great seaweed to start with. It can be enjoyed boiled, dried, or even completely raw (after it has been rinsed off properly). There are many reasons to add this type of seaweed to your diet. Aside from being delicious, Sea Lettuce is a phenomenal source of vitamins, minerals, protein, and dietary fibers. Moreover, Sea Lettuce has been used to treat burns and gout. 

Sea Lettuce is green to dark green in color. It grows in thin sheets that vary in shape. It is used as a hiding place for crabs and other sea animals! As always, seaweed harvesters should be mindful about their impact on the environment. Harvesting too much seaweed at a time in a single area can have negative ramifications on several different species of wildlife, not just the seaweed itself. 

So, you’ve successfully found and collected some Sea Lettuce. Now what? There are many ways to enjoy Sea Lettuce. You can keep it simple by toasting it and adding some salt and sesame oil, use it to compliment a dish, or check out the recipe below to learn how to make Sea Lettuce soup!

Making Sea Lettuce Soup

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken stock

2 sheets Ulva

2 eggs

Salt and pepper

½ tsp sesame oil

Green scallions

Directions:

Heat chicken stock to a boil and then stir in the Sea Lettuce. Once it becomes soft, add in a couple of beaten eggs. After a few seconds, take away from the heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Finish up by adding in the sesame oil and garnishing the soup with sliced green scallions.

Sea Lettuce is just one of many different types of wild seaweed available to those who live near the coast of Northern California. Once you start getting into it, you’ll find that trying new seaweed species and seaweed recipes is fun and exciting! 

Before you go out for the first time, make sure you research what to look for, how to go about harvesting, and have a plan for what you want to do with the seaweed once it’s brought home… or take a seaweed foraging class with an expert!