Jellyfish make quite a tasty dish!

Dried jellyfish can be found in Chinese markets. It has quite a crispy texture, and picks up the flavor of the oils/dressing you add to it.

Here's a good recipe for beginners as it mixes the jelly fish with more familiar flavors.


Jellyfish~ daikon & chicken breast salad

Yield: 3 Servings Ingredients:

1/2 lb Dried salted whole -jellyfish
1 1-pound daikon radish
2 ts Salt
1/2 lg Chicken breast
1/2 Egg white
1 ts Cornstarch
1 ts Sesame oil
1/2 ts Salt
1 1/2 ts Sugar
2 ts Dry sherry
3 tb Peanut oil
2 tb Sesame oil
3 Scallions

Instructions:

Soak the jellyfish in a large bowl of cold water for 24 hours changing the water a couple of times. Peel the daikon with a vegetable peeler; slice thinly; stack slices and cut into matchstick shreds. Put into a mixing bowl toss with the 2 teaspoons of salt and let stand 1 hour. Meanwhile drain water from jellyfish. Pour boiling water over the jellyfish and let stand for 15 seconds. Drain and run under cold water. Set aside. Bone the chicken breast and slice thinly; cut slices into shreds. Mix chicken with the egg white cornstarch and teaspoon of sesame oil; refrigerate for 30 minutes. While the chicken is marinating cut jellyfish into the thinnest possible shreds by rolling up each sheet and slicing it thinly. Place in a large bowl. Wring most of the moisture from the daikon shreds; add to the bowl with the jellyfish. Heat 3 cups water in a saucepan. When boiling turn off the heat and add the chicken shreds stirring to separate the pieces. Simmer for 1 minute. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drain and add to the bowl with the jellyfish. Blend the salt and sugar with the wine until they dissolve. Heat the oils in a saucepan and add the seasoned wine. It will sputter and evaporate. When the oil is hot++don't let it smoke++turn off the heat and add the scallions. Cool. Toss with the salad just before serving.

In case you are wondering if there are any health benefits to jellyfish, can't say that I know anything specific on ingestion of them, but thought the following was interesting:

Jellyfish are key to new treatment for arthritis

Collagen extracted from cannonball jellyfish has been found to relieve the onset and pain from rheumatoid arthritis. Dr. Peggy Hsieh has conducted preliminary testing that shows cannonball jellyfish collagen holds great promise for bringing relief from this debilitating, chronic disease. Dozens of food and pharmaceutical companies worldwide have expressed interest in marketing a commercialized product, if Hsieh’s research continues to confirm her results with a clinical study.