Meaning
昆布 (こんぶ, Kombu) is Kombu, a Japanese food (plants, vegetables).
What is Kombu?
Kombu ( Laminariaceaea spp) is edible kelp and used extensively in Japanese cuisine. It sometimes is transliterated as konbu , which follows Japanese orthography. Kombu is one of the three main ingredients needed to make dashi , a soup stock. Konbu dashi is made by putting either whole dried or powdered kombu in cold water and heating it to near-boiling. The softened kombu is commonly eaten after cooking or is sliced and used to make tsukudani , a dish that is simmered in soy sauce and mirin . Kombu is sold dried ( dashi konbu ) or pickled in vinegar ( su konbu ) or as a dried shred ( oboro konbu , tororo konbu or shiraga konbu ). It may also be eaten fresh in sashimi . Kombu may be pickled with sweet-and-sour flavoring, then cut into small strips about 5 or 6 cm long and 2 cm wide. These are often eaten as a snack with green tea. Konbu-cha (昆布茶) is a tea made by infusing kombu in hot water. What Westerners call "kombucha" is called " kōcha kinoko " in Japan. Kombu is often included when cooking beans, putatively to add nutrients and improve their digestibility.