Not just for wrapping around sticky rice and salmon.
Sometimes I have a small chuckle to myself when I hear that a product that was considered weird when I was a kid suddenly bursts into the mainstream. Seaweed snacks are the perfect example.
When I was young, I really enjoyed munching on these super thin, crispy, umami-packed slices of nori seaweed. Most of my peers only started eating seaweed in their late teens, and strictly in cases when it was wrapped around maki rolls at trendy sushi joints. The seaweed snacks we used to have at home were eaten on their own, almost like crisps, and they came in big sheets of retro clear packaging that could be torn off for a single serving. But it wasn’t the kind of thing that I’d ask mum to pop in my lunchbox, because I was 9 years old and worried that my friends would think it was pretty odd.
Nowadays, I hear that seaweed snacks are all the rage (especially in the States) because of their excellent nutritional profile. Nori seaweed is high in soluble and insoluble fibre, as well as protein. A writer at Elle (very trendy!) also says that seaweed is packed full of nutrients like Vitamin A and C, and elsewhere a certified dietitian-nutritionist says that:
“There have been some studies that link consumption of this ‘superfood’ to reducing the risk of breast cancer, decreasing inflammation, preventing obesity, improving fertility — the list goes on…”
Who knew that my 9 year old self was reaping all these benefits by munching away on these savoury papery sheets of dehydrated seaweed!
In the video below, Amy and I test out two brands that we’d never tried before. And although one of them might not be quite so healthy with all its added seasonings, it sure does taste amazing.
Dumpling Sisters 
