Why Michelin-Starred Chefs Are Paying Premium For One Of Korea's Rarest Seaweeds | So Expensive

Pulling these mossy green threads by hand is the only way to harvest gamtae. And after hours of washing, shaping, and drying, they will be transformed into one of South Korea's rarest seaweeds. When Joo Hyun Song started her business, Padosok, gamtae was mainly harvested and eaten raw by locals in the Seosan region. But turning this small industry into a thriving business presented a challenge. So she worked to get this earthy and sweet seaweed to people outside the region. Not just to anyone, but to the culinary world's biggest players. All while navigating unpredictable harvests and rising prices. So how did Joo Hyun take gamtae from local delicacy to worldwide sensation? And why is it so expensive? But before reaching restaurant kitchens, gamtae's journey starts on the freezing cold western shoreline of South Korea's Garurim Bay. Unlike other types of edible seaweed like nori that can be farmed, gamtae can only grow in the wild on mudflats, coastal wetlands that form when ocean tides wash in sediment and mud. Because of this, gamtae can only be harvested by hand. Any other way could destroy the root of the plant, impacting the supply for next year. Since gamtae can go bad if exposed to high temperatures for too long, harvesting happens from December to March, when the sea is the coldest. For these four months, Joo Hyun and her team must collect as much gamtae as possible to meet demand from buyers for the rest of the year. They can spend six hours a day pulling gamtae from the mudflats. The intense harvesting process is only the first difference between gamtae and more common nori seaweed. Compared to nori's dark green color and slightly coarse feel, gamtae's bright green, fine strands have a more delicate texture. This laborious process is just one of the reasons gamtae costs so much more than other seaweeds. And relying on the rhythms of nature means supply can be unpredictable. Recently, warming sea temperatures have disrupted the growth. To make up the difference, Joo Hyun buys gamtae from local fishermen who collect it. Gamtae also has a richer, more pungent flavor than nori. But that flavor comes with a price tag. An eight-sheet pack of gamtae costs $16. Fifty sheets of nori can be bought for the same price. But whether it's harvested by workers or locals, all the gamtae has to be washed back at the factory. It's the most crucial part of processing, because any mud, debris or critters left on the seaweed could affect how it tastes in the end. Years ago, workers would have done this completely by hand. But this washing machine can clean 100 kilograms in less than 10 minutes. It's just one of the changes Joo Hyun made to the gamtae processing techniques she learned from her father. Like many locals, Joo Hyun's father, Jeol Su Song, grew up eating gamtae. But one day, he was struck with a new idea for processing it. Joo Hyun and her team of 15 still use these techniques to process gamtae at Bada Soop. Workers use a technique called harrowing to form the gamtae into paper-thin sheets. They submerge a handful of the seaweed in fresh water and mold it on top of a bamboo mat. While it may look simple, this technique can take three years to master. Joo Hyun uses this press to remove excess water from the gamtae. The sheets dry the rest of the way in these dryers. Bada Soop sells gamtae sheets either raw or roasted at 230 degrees Celsius for 10 seconds. Bada Soop produces 3,500 sheets of gamtae in a single day and exports roughly 500,000 each year. But carving out a market for gamtae outside of So Song was anything but easy. Joo Hyun knew the only way to create a market for the seaweed was to teach people about it. She focused on promoting it to the high-end market, sending samples of gamtae to Michelin-starred chefs and writing articles describing its unique taste and texture. Eventually, her years of tireless promotion paid off. Joo Hyun says she began getting inquiries from chefs around the world. My interest in Korea grew. Chefs I met had a great desire for ingredients. Especially when I introduced them to gamtae, they were very excited to see new ingredients. One of them is Christopher Leung. He's the chef owner of the restaurant Francie in Brooklyn, New York. It's one of several Michelin-starred restaurants that sources gamtae through bada soup. It's got this, like, robust aroma. It's like an oceanic white truffle is what I always describe it to people. Chris has been using gamtae in his dishes for the last 10 years. It's a key ingredient in one of the restaurant's signature dishes, gonggigli. Here we are in the kitchen. We're about to start making our actual pasta, the gonggigli itself, using the seaweed. And we have four simple ingredients. We have our semolina flour. We have the gamtae itself. We have water and we have salt. Very simple. Chris mixes the seaweed into the pasta dough. I felt like it seasoned the dough to a point where you actually taste it through the pasta itself. It's got a lot of umami, a lot of pop. The pasta is then cooked in a buttery wine sauce and topped with clams. It's right on. Got tons of umami, bright, great mouthfeel, great texture. While Chris could opt for cheaper types of seaweed, he says gamtae's one-of-a-kind flavor is worth the price tag. Anything's worth it in the pursuit of deliciousness. And Chris isn't the only one willing to pay. Bada Soup provides gamtae for high-end restaurants in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, as well as Belgium, France, and Germany. But this new demand has caused raw gamtae prices to rise. Joo Hyun says since 2020, more producers have popped up. But there is a silver lining. Joo Hyun says this new market for gamtae is helping local communities in Soseon.