WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
A staple pantry item in some restaurants is nori powder, which is just toasted nori sheets ground to a fine powder in a spice grinder or blender. The powder stores well for weeks and can be used in any number of ways to bring a subtle sea-flavored umami quality to both savory and sweet dishes. It can be blended into butter or worked into pasta dough, and it’s quite tasty sprinkled over popcorn, potato chips, or other salty snacks. So grab a package of nori sheets, get your grind on, and open up some new possibilities in your kitchen. It’s a great way to tap into the versatility of seaweed and add a supersimple “chef-y” item to your pantry. A spice grinder produces the finest nori powder and is our preferred tool for the job. A blender can also be used, but the resulting powder will be coarser. You can use either toasted or untoasted nori sheets for this recipe. Either type should be toasted in step 1.
MAKES: ½ cup
TOTAL TIME: 40 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
10 sheets
INSTRUCTIONS:
- PREHEAT OVEN AND PREPARE NORI SHEETS:
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- Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 275 degrees.
- Spread nori evenly in a single layer on 2 rimmed baking sheets.
- Bake until nori is aromatic and shrinks slightly, 20 to 25 minutes, flipping nori and also switching and rotating baking sheets halfway through toasting.
- Tear nori sheets into rough 1½-inch pieces.
- GRIND NORI PIECES TO POWDER
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- Loosely pack spice grinder chamber three-quarters full with nori pieces and grind to fine powder, about 30 seconds.
- Without emptying the spice grinder, add more nori pieces until the grinding chamber is three-quarters full and grind to fine powder, about 30 seconds.
- Transfer nori powder to an airtight container.
- Repeat the grinding process twice with remaining nori pieces.
