Seaweed Tempura
A brief drain on some paper towels, a shower of salt, and you've got a great bar snack!
First, you have to find fresh (or at least salted) seaweed. Try to find some that's very thinly sliced to save yourself some work -- I found a frozen kind in a Japanese market that I liked...
The two varieties I found (both salted) below: the frozen one, on the left, was much thinner and didn't need any further slicing, while the one on the right did.
Use a very sharp knife if you're gonna slice!
And make sure to rinse the seaweed well and drain it.
Soda water makes the batter really light and crispy -- it's the secret to great tempura.
Sesame seeds are the unsung hero in this dish, in my opinion. They give the fried seaweed a lovely nutty crunch.
Whisking soda water with flour, the sesame seeds, and a bit of salt.
Then, you just plop in the seaweed!
Got my oil heating as I mix the seaweed with the batter.
You want the oil hot but not super-hot -- about 300 degrees is good.
Carefully dip small spoonfuls of the seaweed into the oil, making sure not to crowd the pot.
This slotted skimmer is a great tool for deep frying.
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Author Notes: For the second installment in this series -- about the delicious seafood my husband and I ate on the beach in Kenya during our honeymoon -- I present seaweed tempura. The seaweed at Kiwayu was almost translucent, and emerald green. During the day, it undulated gently under our toes as we swam in the crystal clear Indian Ocean -- at night, it served as an addictive bar snack, freckled with sesame seeds and encased in a light, crisp tempura shell.
This is my interpretation of the recipe the chef at Kiwayu kindly gave me. - merrill
Serves 6 as an hors d'oeuvre
- 1 cup seaweed
- 1/3 cup plus 3 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- Salt
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 5 ounces soda water
- Peanut oil, for frying
- Soy sauce (I prefer light), for serving
- If your seaweed is in wide strips, slice them into thin ribbons. Clean the seaweed with running water and drain it well. Set aside.
- Stir together the flour, a pinch of salt and the sesame seeds in a medium bowl. Gradually pour in the soda water, whisking constantly.
- Heat 2 inches of oil in a large, deep pot over a medium flame, to about 300 degrees F. In the meantime, add the seaweed to the batter and stir to combine. Carefully drop the seaweed into the hot oil by 1/2 tablespoonfuls, about 6 spoonfuls at a time. Fry until lightly golden, turning over once during cooking, and then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels while you fry the rest of the seaweed. (If the clumps of seaweed sink and stick to the bottom of the pot, don't worry -- after a minute or two you should be able to use the spoon to gently ease them from the bottom of the pot.)
- Sprinkle the fried seaweed with salt and serve while still warm with soy sauce for dipping.
- This recipe is a Community Pick!
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over 1 year ago CharlieR
Droplet: That would be the perfect compliment for scallops!
Thanks for thinking out loud!
over 1 year ago CharlieR
This sounds so good!
Do you use fresh seaweed or dried?
almost 2 years ago Droplet
Oops, here is your "l".
almost 2 years ago Droplet
These are a great find, Merril. I think they would make a good appetizer to a dish containing scallops.