Recipe developed and contributed by Maureen Gualtieri
With Spring sprung-ing, my kitchen is starting to turn out lighter fare. But it can still veer towards gross enough outside that I don’t want to leave the house. So it’s wonderful to have a recipe for a light, addictive snack that relies on stuff that’s lurking in the pantry! This month, we dupe a favourite nosh, crisp and spicy seaweed snacks. Made from nori, the dried dark seaweed sheets used to roll maki, the heat of these snacks is dialed up when fried in the oil from DFC’s Garlic Chili Crisp. A classic Japanese seasoning like nanami togarashi (chili pepper/ginger/sesame/orange peel) makes it even hotter! (Try topping with furikake [bonito /sesame/sugar/salt] for a milder bite.) Enjoy immediately after frying, on their own or floating delicately atop a bowl of ramen.
Double Spicy Seaweed Snacks
(Yield: 12 pieces)
3 sheets nori (roasted seaweed)
up to 4 tbsp (60ml) oil from DFC’s Garlic Chili Crisp
nanami togarashi or furikake seasoning, to taste
Cut your nori sheets into quarters. (I prefer rectangles to more closely duplicate the commercial snacks, but you can do triangles or any shape you like!) Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet like a cast iron over a medium-low flame. Tip in your oil—just enough to cover the bottom of your skillet and allow the thin nori sheets to float slightly. When oil is shimmery, lay down one rectangle of nori; it will shrink suddenly and delightfully. Flip the nori immediately, then fry the other side for up to 30 seconds. (I recommend tasting one of the early ones for doneness; because of the darkness of the nori it can be difficult to tell when they’re ready.) When done, remove with tongs or chopsticks and allow as much oil to drain back off into the skillet as possible, then lay the nori out on a paper towel-covered plate to absorb the rest. Sprinkle one or both sides immediately with your favourite seasoning, and repeat the above process until all your nori rectangles are done.
Chow down immediately on this crunchy-spicy snack, or top them on a ramen bowl, salad, or even crumbled on popcorn!
