Can You Eat Jellyfish?

There are a great many creatures in this world, on the land or in the seas and oceans, which are immediately off-putting to a majority of people in particularly modern Western countries when it comes to considering them as a foodstuff. A particular species may be considered unclean or simply repugnant, it may be considered impractical to clean or prepare, or the creature may be perceived as being poisonous or in some other way hazardous to human health.

Jellyfish, at the point of first consideration in this way, perhaps fulfils all three of these criteria, but the reality is that these creatures of the ocean are extremely popular foodstuffs in certain parts of Asia, particularly in countries such as China and Japan, and have been for centuries. This clearly indicates that certain types of jellyfish are indeed entirely edible and can be enjoyed cooked or prepared in an extremely wide variety of ways.

Important safety warning: only jellyfish harvested and prepared by an expert should be considered for eating. Under no circumstances should you attempt to take a jellyfish from the sea or ocean and so much as touch it never mind consider preparing it as a foodstuff yourself!

Sustainability is a major factor in food consumption in the world today, particularly with regards to stocks of a wide variety of fish and other seafood in our oceans. While many species have faced or continue to face extinction due to over-fishing on the part of mankind, the absolute opposite is true of jellyfish. They are so plentiful, in fact, that one scientist propounded the theory that they will eventually become so numerous their increased presence alone will threaten the existence of other creatures in the seas and oceans.

This means that conservationists can not only eat jellyfish with a clear conscience, but we could potentially be doing our planet a favour in terms of the bigger picture by adding this presently much maligned sea creature to our menus. Could jellyfish even offer a potential solution to food crises around the world? The idea is surely worth exploring!

It's fair to say that plain jellyfish doesn't taste much of anything, other than perhaps the very faint saltiness of the sea. As with any new foodstuff, however, it is worth trying in its natural form before getting too creative and enhancing it with other ingredients. I added a little bit of this jellyfish to some plain buttered toast to sample it for the first time.

There's no disputing, however, that flavour enhancers are required if jellyfish is to be enjoyed at anything like its best. Maybe the jellyfish you buy will already have been dressed or embellished in some other way, but if you buy the plain stuff, you will find below a couple of very simple but tasty recipes you may wish to try.

Prep time: 5 min

Cook time: 2 min

Ready in: 7 min

Yields: 1 serving

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus a little extra for bruschetta

• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

• Pinch black pepper

• Pinch dried basil

• 1 yellow banana leg tomato

• 2 cherry tomatoes

• 2 thin slices from peeled red onion half

• 1 tablespoon plain jellyfish strips

• 2 large lettuce leaves

• 1 standard slice of bread

• 1 clove of garlic

• Salt

Pour the extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar into a glass or stone mixing bowl. Season with black pepper and dried basil and stir well. Note that no salt is required in the salad as the jellyfish is salty enough.

Roughly chop the yellow tomato and cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Add to the bowl along with the separated strands of red onion. Stir gently with a wooden spoon to combine and coat all pieces in the oil.

Add the jellyfish strips and carefully stir again.

Wash the lettuce leaves and pat them dry with kitchen paper. Roll together and shred. Season with a little salt and pepper before arranging in the base of a deep serving plate to form a bed for the salad. Spoon the salad on to the lettuce.

Toast the bread and rub one hot side with a peeled and lightly crushed garlic clove. Drizzle lightly with extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Slice into quarters and arrange around the salad for service.

Prep time: 5 min

Cook time: N/A

Ready in: 5 min

Yields: 1 serving

• 1/4 red bell pepper

• 3 fine slices from peeled and halved red onion

• 1 small green chilli

• 1 clove of garlic

• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

• 1 tablespoon canned red kidney beans

• 1 tablespoon plain jellyfish strips

• Black pepper

• Generous pinch dried coriander leaf/cilantro (or a teaspoon of freshly chopped)

• 2 handfuls mini poppadoms flavour of choice

Separate the onion slices into strands. Seed and finely slice the bell pepper portion. Add both to a glass or stone mixing bowl.

Seed and finely dice the chilli and peel and crush or grate the garlic clove before adding both to the bowl.

Season with some black pepper and coriander/cilantro. Add the lime juice to the bowl and stir well.

Add the red kidney beans and the jellyfish to the salad and carefully stir fold through.

Plate the salad on one half of a deep serving plate and arrange the poppadoms alongside to serve.