Sentence:  Forget crispy fried "nori" or pliant "hijiki": <WSD>"mekabu</WSD>" comes in a coating of—there's no other word for it—goo. As one chews, it starts to expand, until suffocation starts to seem like a real possibility. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Stems or thick leaves from near the stem of the plant, eaten as a vegetable.