Pickled Jellyfish
Jellyfish skin (海蜇皮) is used to make jellyfish salad as it does not contain venom. Jellyfish head is not used as it contains venom. Even though it is not required to cook jellyfish, it is recommended to give it a quick rinse of about 10 seconds in hot water.
Sesame flavoured jellyfish salad (涼拌海蜇) is commonly served as a cold appetizer in Chinese wedding banquets in Singapore. Jellyfish does not have any flavour, but due to its crunchy texture, it is suitable to make into a salad by adding seasonings such as sesame oil, chilli and soy sauce.
Jellyfish are preserved by drying to remove the water, followed by adding salt pickles for preservation.
Preparatory Methods
As salt is used to preserve the jellyfish, rinse the jellyfish thoroughly to reduce its salt content.
Cut the jellyfish into thin shreds or slices according to your preference.
Soak the thin slices of jellyfish in cool water overnight, and change the water several times, to reduce the salt content of the jellyfish.
Drain out the cold water. Rinse the jellyfish using boiling water for about 10 seconds, and quickly transfer it into ice cold water to achieve the crunchy texture.
Dry out all excess water and add in your favorite seasonings such as vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil and chili peppers for the perfect jellyfish salad.
Bonus tip:
After adding all the seasonings, place the whole bowl of jellyfish into the fridge for at least one hour, for the jellyfish to absorb the flavours of the seasonings.