Roasted Seaweed, A New, Healthier Alternative to Potato Chips

Back in the year 2003 I moved home from New Mexico to Oklahoma.  I quickly made new friends through my adventures.  Oklahoma City has become a much more diverse city and I made a friend who was a white guy like me with an Asian wife.  We became friends over our mutual interest in the Asian culture with all it's wonderful philosophy and cuisine.  His wife, is also an insanely good cook and I ate there regularly over coffee and stimulating conversation.    This was my first experience with the recipe  and I have been craving it ever since.

There are a lot of ways to cook the recipe and this is the first of many I expect to post.  Chances are all you have to do is buy some seaweed sheets in the Asian section.  Seaweed is such an unlikely to ingredient to have in a western state like Oklahoma I am guessing you can find it at a store near you.

Seaweed Snack Explosion

In 2014 I ran into my old friend seaweed snacks again in an interesting package as pictured below.  I was on a road trip across Thailand and found them everywhere.  This was such a life saver as it is a bit difficult to find things you like overseas.  Thai food is often the most different from American of any cuisine I have ever tasted.

Now you can find the snacks in any Asian market in the US.  You probably wont find them in a rural market as of this writing but you can make them from home using the sheets meant to make sushi.

Seaweed Snack Options

Directions:

1.  Preheat an oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. 
2. Cut the seaweed strips into rectangles, squares, or fun shapes like Oscar the grouch or whatever your creative mind comes up with.
3. Brush or spray the strips lightly with your favorite healthy oil, seasoning such as a tom yum seasoning like that pictured below and or seeds like sesame seeds.

TomYum Paste as a Roasted Seaweed Seasoning

4.  Place them on a lightly oiled cookie sheet or pizza pan.

Seaweed Prepped for Roasting

1. Roast those little babies for 15-20 minutes.   Check and make sure they are crispy but not burnt.  If you put more oil on them they will take longer to be crispy.  One batch we made was a less than crispy due to the amount of oil we brushed on so take it easy.
2. Pack them in a travel safe container or a bowl as an appetizer or snack for a healthy alternative to potato chips and enjoy!

Roasted Seaweed Snack

Nutritional Facts:

Calories

The best thing about seaweed is that it has negligible calories making it a really good competition for the potato or corn chip.   One of the commercially made strips using sugar only has 10 calories.  Our recipe has no sugar and you can adjust how much oil you use meaning the sky is the limit for lowering the number of calories in this recipe.

Vitamins and Minerals

The main thing that you will find in seaweed that is helpful is iodine.  Seaweed and kelp are actually really good sources of the vital nutrient and as far as I know the very best source.  In industrialized countries we don't have to worry about getting enough of it because our salt is iodized.

Why we need iodine

In other countries you may see someone with a big round protrusion coming from the front of their neck.  That is what happens when you don't get enough iodine.  The thyroid needs it to help with metabolism and grows bigger trying to compensate creating the thing called a goiter.  I actually saw it in Indonesia and learned to appreciate my American made education and food technologies.  There are also a number of other symptoms that occur with decreased thyroid function.  As you can imagine, when we loose the function of one important organ like the thyroid all others also suffer.

Other Vitamins and Minerals

Seaweed is also a good source of vitamins A, C and calcium and is sometimes advertised in supplements made to help with osteoarthritis.  Red seaweed is the most common used for this reason.   The Huffington Post wrote an interesting article called, Seaweed: The Green Superfood You’re Not Eating — But Should Be.  It goes into more depth on the available supplements and therapeutic options using seaweed.

Other Ways to Prepare Seaweed

You can also just heat premade seaweed squares in a skillet.  You can serve it cold and wet with soy sauce and sesame seeds, you can put it in soup, the list goes on and on.  Stay tuned to our blog for more ideas on how to use this super food we all need to be eating more.

Happy Foodie and Travel Adventures!!  Let us know how you enjoy your seaweed or would like to see us explore it in future posts.

If you like this snack you may also like our baked tofu snack recipe.

Baked Tofu Snack

Or this kale recipe

Kale Salad with Thai Sesame Curry Dressing