You know that challenging feeling when you read recipes from a different culture and they’re full of unfamiliar ingredients? Turn that challenge into an opportunity! Once you figure out how to cook with a new ingredient, it opens so many doors to making your daily dinner more exciting. Today, we’re going to learn more about Japanese ingredients, and specifically What is Nori seaweed, and the best ways to use it in cooking.
What is Nori?
Nori is a type of edible seaweed that is dried and pressed into thin, black sheets. It’s very commonly used in Japanese cuisine, particularly for sushi and onigiri. You know that black, papery sheet enclosing the rice and filling of maki sushi rolls? That’s a nori seaweed sheet.
The type of seaweed used to make nori is a sort of red algae called Pyropia. The seaweed is farmed in the sea where nets are suspended at the sea surface, providing an area for the algae to grow. Once grown, the farmers traditionally operated from boats to harvest it, although these days, the harvest more usually takes place mechanically. The algae is transported to the processing plants, where it undergoes a procedure similar to paper-making to process it into those edible dark sheets.
What does Nori Taste Like?
It has a distinctive salty and umami flavor. The sheets are often toasted, giving it a slightly nutty flavor. It’s not something that is generally eaten alone and is more usually utilized more like seasoning, when shredded, or for structural reasons, as in holding together a roll of sushi. When dry, it is light and crisp, but when moistened, it softens and becomes a little chewy.
What is the Nutritional Profile of Nori?
Nori has a good balance of some important nutrients. It’s rich in vitamins A and C, plus riboflavin (vitamin B2) and folate (B9). It also contains moderate levels of iron, niacin and zinc, and high levels of the mineral iodine, required for good function of the thyroid gland.
Here are some of my favorite recipes using this edible seaweed.
1. Sushi Bowl
All the flavors of sushi, without having to get out your sushi rolling mat! In this recipe, the nori is shredded and scattered over the toppings of the dish for seasoning.
Recipe by: Yummy Addiction
2. Toasted Seaweed Chips
I said earlier that you don’t usually eat nori by itself – well, this recipe is the exception! A delicious crunchy snack. If you like kale chips, you’ll love these.
Recipe by: Well Nourished
3. Roasted Seaweed Soup
For those who love miso soup and want to try something similar. If anything, nori soup is even more of a umami hit than miso: salty, savory, and utterly delicious.
Recipe by: Recipe Tin Eats
4. Poke with Seaweed
Poke is a traditional Hawaiian dish, heavily influenced by Japanese immigrants in the sixties, who added rice, soy sauce, nori seaweed, and a number of other elements to the basic seasoned fish.
Recipe by: Algas de Galicia
5. Salmon Sushi Bake
Like lasagna, but with sticky rice and nori sheets instead of pasta. And salmon instead of tomato ragu. Sound weird? It is a bit, but very, very tasty! One of my favorite fusion foods.
Recipe by: Yummy Addiction
6. Quick Nori Roll with Cucumber
A gorgeous vegan maki roll with cucumber and avocado. This doesn’t even use rice, making it not-exactly sushi, but still excellent, with some fusion cashew cheese flavor going on as well.
Recipe by: Chocolate & Zucchini
7. Nori Biscuits
Oh my goodness, simply amazing! Simple biscuits (scones, to our British friends) are elevated to the extraordinary with the addition of crumbled nori seaweed. Just heavenly.
Recipe by: Eat Cho Food
8. Tsukudani
This recipe turns nori into a delicious condiment. In Japan, you can buy it ready made in stores, but in the US, it’s harder to find. Luckily, it’s easy to make for yourself at home.
Recipe by: Japanese Cooking 101
9. Crispy Fried Nori
Totally addictive little bites of crunchy goodness. The recipe uses up leftover tempura batter and sheets of nori seaweed along with bonito flakes (katsuobushi).
Recipe by: Hiroko Liston
10. Nori Risotto
A gorgeous barley risotto with parmesan and toasted nori flakes mixed in, for the ultimate in vegetarian umami flavor, with a great nubbly texture from the barley grains.
Recipe by: Power Superfoods
11. Seaweed Sandwich
These delightful little nori wraps fold the seaweed in a different way to create a vehicle for the filling. This is a vegan version, but you could use whatever filling you liked.
Recipe by: Plant Based Jess
12. Tekka Don
A super-easy Japanese rice bowl with diced tuna and shredded seaweed over sticky sushi rice. If you have the rice already cooked, it’s ready in a matter of minutes…
Recipe by: Yummy Addiction
Conclusion
Now you know what nori is and how to cook, there’s no need to be intimidated any longer by this international ingredient. It’s easy to find it in any Japanese grocery store, and even in most of the big supermarkets these days. Get shredding, toasting, rolling or folding for a great tasty addition to your pantry! Let me know what you plan to do with your seaweed.
No Comments