5 Savory Ways To Use Seaweed That Aren’t Sushi

Flickr/Ken Hawkins

Seaweed is an acquired taste, but once you’re into it, the world becomes a better place. Sushi aside, seaweed is a powerhouse ingredient. It provides you with vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, better digestion, antioxidants, fiber and prebiotics. When it comes to cooking with seaweed, the most common varieties are kombu, nori, kelp, wakame, and arame. If you’re not a raw fish person, but you want to squeeze some seaweed into your diet, here are five ways to do it.

1. Seaweed Salad

Seaweed salad can be an excellent source of Vitamin A, C, E, K and B vitamins. Seaweed salad is easy to prepare and good for you (minus the extra sugar, MSG or artificial colors they might add at a sushi restaurant) so if you’re not into it, try and change your mind. Here’s a seaweed salad with wakame that’ll only take you 10 minutes to make. The basic ingredients for a seaweed salad involve rice vinegar, soy sauce, sweet rice wine, sesame oil, cayenne pepper, ginger and sesame seeds. Sometimes you’ll see wasabi in there or a bunch of thinly sliced vegetables like carrots, radishes and cucumbers.

2. Seaweed Chips

A cousin to kale chips, seaweed chips are an awesome way to pack vitamins and minerals into your snacking routine. Try these seaweed chips that are made with nori, sesame oil, garlic, cayenne and salt. For a recipe that’s a little more minimalist, this recipe for nori chips only calls for salt and olive oil. You’ll need a baking sheet, an oven and a pastry brush (or any utensil that can easily spread olive oil onto each piece of seaweed). You can package these chips up for the road and you’ll have a crunchy umami-packed snack that you won’t feel crappy about eating.

3. Kombu Smoothies

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If you’re looking to start off your morning with an energy boost, consider keeping seaweed on hand. Seaweed smoothies are packed with fiber and vitamins. This umami-spiked green smoothie has blueberry juice, greens, mint, pineapple, bananas, ginger and flax seeds. For a seaweed smoothie that’s on the green side, this superfood smoothie has kombu flakes, coconut water, cucumber, celery, spinach, mint, turmeric and matcha.

4. Nori Salad Dressing

For someone who can’t get enough umami flavors in their diet, try whipping up a nori salad dressing with rice vinegar, mirin and soy sauce. For a nori vinaigrette, you’ll want to have a little bit of garlic, wine vinegar, thyme, dried nori and extra virgin olive oil. Whichever way you slice it, seaweed dressing can be a fresh change from your usual oil and vinegar routine.

5. Umami-Packed Popcorn

For the adventurous eaters out there, sprinkle seaweed flakes on top of your popcorn for movie night. For the ultimate umami lover, try this seaweed popcorn with sesame oil, butter, salt and nori. Add toasted sesame seeds for an extra crunch. If you like seaweed, but don’t feel like eating entire strips of it, nori popcorn is approachable and takes less time to prepare next to seaweed chips, nori dressing or seaweed salad.

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