Kai for thought: Karengo(seaweed)

Kai (food) has a special role in connecting people and bridging cultures in Aotearoa New Zealand. Many plants and kaimoana (seafood) we enjoy today have been staples in the Māori diet for hundreds of years. Māori innovation and Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) have guided the cultivation and harvest of culturally significant foods for generations.

Karengo is a red sea lettuce native to Aotearoa. It is closely related to the Japanese nori and Welsh laver. Karengo can be either eaten raw, dried, reconstituted in hot water as soup, or used to season various dishes. The flavour changes depending on how it is prepared. When eaten fresh the taste is relatively mild but it has a distinctive fishy taste when dried. It can also be used as a steaming vessel for seafood.

USE: Karengo was an important supplement to the pre-settlement Māori winter diet. It contains significantly more minerals than land plants. Dried karengo was also sent to members of the Māori Battalion in the Middle East during World War II. Today, Māori organisations are exploring new innovations with karengo ingredients.

NUTRITIONAL VALUE: Some Māori recognise the value of this seaweed as a laxative and as a preventative of goitre. The stand-out nutrient in karengo is iodine but it is also high in iron, folate and dietary fibre. Iodine is particularly important for the brain and nervous system, and the production of thyroid hormones.

For more on the nutrient content of these foods and over 2,700 commonly prepared and eaten foods in New Zealand, visit the New Zealand Food Composition Database at foodcomposition.co.nz. To learn more about Māori traditional and contemporary interests in plant and kaimoana, check out some of the Māori organisations Plant & Food Research has supported in these areas: Wakatū, Tuaropaki and Ngati Porou Miere.