Korean Seaweed Snack vs Japanese Seaweed Snack

Posted under Recipes & Instruction, Seaweed by susan

Today, I encountered an inquiry from one of our customers. He bought a bag of Japanese seaweed snack

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and a bag of Korean Seaweed snack

Both are great stuffs…. for us. However, it doesn’t seem so for this customer, who was new to the seaweed. After devouring the super crispy Korean seaweed, he found the taste of Japanese seaweed is quite dull and thought it was stale.

The truth is, the Japanese seaweed snack is just as fresh as the Korean seaweed snack. The difference in the taste was due to how the seaweed snack was made by Korean or Japanese.

Korean style seaweed snack are usually seasoned and roasted in sesame oil (most of the time). You can do one experiment. Use a fine tissue, or simply use your finger to rub the Korean seaweed gently, you will see/feel the oil on the tissue or your finger.

Because the Korean seaweed has been roasted in oil, it is very crispy and it stays that way very long. Japanese seaweed, on the other hand, is not added with any oil. They are simply seasoned and dried roasted, just like the seaweed nori used for sushi making. The Japanese seaweed snack is not very crispy. It gains some degree of crispy from being very dried, but you will never have a Japanese seaweed snack or nori sheet as crispy as Korean ones.

Because it is not oiled, many new comers to seaweed snacks might find the Korean seaweed is more attractive than the Japanese one.

Nevertheless, after enjoying the Korean seaweed for a while, you might find the mild, “plainer” Japanese seaweed to be just as enjoyable. You can use it to roll the rice, meat, sprinkle over the noodle, soup or eat out of packets. Many many ways to enjoy. At 4 calories per 12 strips, you don’t have to worry too much on how much calories you are taking in.

Just like Fried Chicken, it tastes great, but one day you might find a grilled Chicken to be just as tasty as the fried one……..

We love all different kinds of seaweed snack. PierMall.com carries

4 different seaweed snacks:

Korean Seaweed - Low salt - 3 bags

Korean Seaweed Snack - Green Tea

Original Korean Seaweed - 1 case

PierMall.com also carry many different seaweed nori for sushi:

50 sheets seaweed nori +1 Sushi Mat (product of China)	Seaweed Nori for Sushi (China)
Seaweed Nori for Sushi (Japan)

There are many types available, available in single bag or value pack. Search for “Seaweed”