Bulung — Indonesia

Bulung is the Balinese word for seaweed, and the dish built around it is a cold salad of rinsed seaweed strands tossed with grated coconut, shallot, chili and a squeeze of lime. Sea grapes or other soft, crunchy varieties of seaweed are most often used, giving the salad a light, briny bite. It is found along the coasts of Indonesia, most closely associated with Bali, where seaweed farming supplies markets with fresh strands sold specifically for this kind of salad, often eaten as a side dish or light starter. To prepare it, fresh seaweed is rinsed several times in clean water to remove excess salt and sand, then briefly blanched or left raw depending on the variety. It is mixed with a dressing of grated coconut, sliced shallot, crushed chili, garlic and lime juice, sometimes with a spoon of shrimp paste for depth, and left to sit briefly so the flavors combine. The seaweed variety and the dressing both shift from one coast to another: some cooks favor a plain lime and chili dressing, others add grated coconut for body and sweetness, and the level of chili heat is adjusted freely to taste. Fresher, crunchier seaweed is generally preferred over strands that have sat too long, which turn slippery.