Red tosaka (aka-tosaka in Japanese) is a crisp, tender seaweed commonly consumed raw & cold in Japan. It’s often served as a garnish, blended with other seaweeds and ingredients for a light seaweed salad, or as an accompaniment to sashimi.

Store tosaka in your refrigerator. For best shelf life, do not de-salt it until you are ready to use it.

Prior to eating or cooking with tosaka, you should rinse it two or three times with fresh water, then soak it for about ten minutes (until its salt level has been reduced to your liking).
 
Once the tosaka is de-salted, the excess water can be removed by pressing it between towels or using a salad spinner.
 
It can be served plain or as a seaweed salad tossed with other ingredients such as finely sliced cucumber, other seaweeds, finely grated fresh galangal or ginger, fresh wasabi, citrus juice or zests (particularly yuzu juice), toasted sesame oil, sesame seeds or camelina seeds. For a dressing we recommend an oil & rice wine vinaigrette (how to make a vinaigrette), perhaps with black garlic blended in for extra depth.