We love snacking on roasted nori sheets, you know the ones you can buy in stores that are little rectangle sheets with various flavorings. We wanted to see if we could make our own from raw seaweeds. It’s surprisingly easy! You can make sushi roll or roast and season for a snack.
We tried three different kinds of seaweed: nori, dulse, and sea lettuce. Then tried two different drying techniques, oven, and dehydrator.
Results: Nori was the best tasting with a better crispy crunchy mouthfeel. Nori also had the most shrinkage so a slower drying time on low heat works better for keeping it in one single sheet. Sea lettuce made a really good crunchy sheet, but didn’t dissolve very well when eating and felt a little more papery. Dulse also felt a little more papery compared to nori but had a similar taste. We did this experiment in a single shot from known nori recipes. For dulse and sea lettuce we suggest playing around with blanching, drying, cooking times, and temperatures for even better results.
Directions
Blanch the seaweeds in boiling water for about a minute. This helps break down the cell walls making the seaweed more tender. Red and brown seaweeds will turn bright green during this process.
Puree the blanched seaweed. Make sure to cool before sealing to avoid pressure buildup.
Strain seaweed thought fine mesh or coffee filter.
Press seaweed on either silicone mats (for oven) or wax paper (for a dehydrator).
Cover with wax paper and flatten into a thin sheet with a rolling pin
Dry- For a dehydrator dry on low (~95F) for up to 8 hrs. For an oven dry at 260F for 3 hrs. When dry the seaweed will be in a flexible and crunchy sheet.
Mix your favorite oils (we used sesame and olive) and brush on one side of seaweed sheet.
Sprinkle on any salts or seasoning you wish.
Place seaweed sheet on a backing sheet oil side up and broil on low for just a few minutes. If you burn the seaweed it will taste terrible.
Now eat!
