Green laver

Green laver, known as aonori in Japan, sea cabbage or hutai in China, and parae and kim in Korean, is a type of edible green seaweed, including species from the genera Monostroma and Ulva. It is commercially cultivated in some bay areas in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, such as Ise Bay. It is rich in minerals such as calcium, magnesium, lithium, vitamins, and amino acids such as methionine. It is also called aosa in some places in Japan.

Culinary use

Japan

It is used in its dried form for Japanese soups, tempura, and material for manufacturing dried nori and tsukudani and rice. It is also used in a powdered form, often blended with Ulva species of Ulvaceae as its production is limited.
It is used commonly for flavouring of some Japanese foods, usually by sprinkling the powder on the hot food, for its aroma:

In Korea, parae is eaten as a namul vegetable. It is also used to make gim.

China

In parts of southern China, green laver is added to soups and traditional seafood dishes, especially in coastal regions.

Similar species

Green laver shares the name "laver" with Porphyra umbilicalis, a red seaweed, which is harvested from the coasts of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland and used to prepare laverbread. Like "green laver", similar edible seaweeds with indigenous names translated as "laver", are found in many other countries around the world. In Hawaii, "the species Porphyra atropurpurea is considered a great delicacy, called Limu luau".