Nori - what is it? How to prepare nori at home

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Sushi is the most famous Japanese food. And one of the main ingredients of this dish is nori. These are special algae that are used to prepare many dishes. But most often they are used precisely to create rolls. Externally, nori are rectangular sheets. They may be brown, reddish or dark green in color. The shade of the plant affects the taste of the final delicacy. In addition to the Land of the Rising Sun, this product is grown in Korea and China. Seaweed has a spicy, special taste and is considered a real exotic in some countries.

A trip to history

Nori is a product first mentioned in Japanese chronicles dating back to the 8th century. It was the Taiho code, and it stated that the emperor had the right to collect tribute from his subjects with products, among which were these leaves. In the 980s, nori turns into ordinary food for ordinary Japanese.

Today, nori is sheets of dried and pressed seaweed. In this form, they appeared much later, since for a long time they were not dried, but simply ground to a paste.consistency. The production of sheets we are accustomed to began after applying papermaking technology to the paste.

Americans who first came to Japan in the 19th century thought that the local people were eating black paper. And it was just dried red algae. The industrial method of nori began to be made in one of the districts of Tokyo - Asakusa. The dried delicacy was quite expensive at first. And the nori themselves were collected from stones only at the time of low tide of the sea. But in the late 1940s, scientists developed a method of growing plants artificially.

Classification

Nori, the photos of which we post in the article, are divided into three grades - A, B and C. Grade A is considered the highest. These are very strong and plastic sheets with a deep green tone with a golden tint and an even structure.

The other two varieties are much inferior in quality to the previous version. These algae can be easily distinguished by their color. It can be pale green, reddish or reddish with small gaps. Such sheets are characterized by low strength: they can crack when stuffing is twisted into them.

Whatever variety of nori you buy, store it in an airtight package, in a dry and dark place.

Home cooking

Unfortunately, it is impossible to grow nori at home. They are brought only from far abroad, and the domestic consumer buys them in the store ready-made. Or, more preciselysay, semi-finished, because the taste and shape of rolls and sushi depend on the correct preparation of seaweed. Therefore, after buying nori in a supermarket, you need to properly prepare it for further use at home.

So, after the nori sheet is taken out of the package, it must be heated very quickly on the fire on both sides. To do this, the sheet should be kept in a horizontal position and evenly heated along its entire length. The whole procedure is done on the lowest possible fire. The algae will fry after two to three seconds. As a result, it will become crumbly and crispy. Nori should not be grilled.

Varieties and preparation

The following sushi sheets are the most popular in Japan:

• Nori-maki - not only rolls and sushi are made from them, but also dishes such as mochi (rice cakes) and onigiri (rice balls). This type of algae is a thin compressed square-shaped leaves, reaching a length of 25 centimeters. The plants used to make nori-maki are washed and cut into small pieces. Then they are dried in the hot sun, laid out on special bamboo frames. When preparing sushi, the stuffing for them is laid out on the matte side of the maki.
• Yaki-nori - they are obtained after frying sheets of seaweed. This procedure is performed in order to enhance the aroma and taste. Yaki nori is a part of many second courses and snacks. Also from this plant variety you can make a stunningly tasty base for soups. To prepare richbroth is enough just to pour hot yaki water. The nutritious food is recommended for vegetarians and dieters.
• Awa-nori is a seasoning for Japanese noodles. Grinding green leaves can make delicious awa-nori.

Composition, benefits and harms

Nori is seaweed containing vitamins A and C, vegetable proteins, carbohydrates, and minerals: phosphorus, calcium, iron and iodine. Algae-based food is very important for individuals who suffer from a lack of iodine in the body. The product is also useful for those who have a high percentage of cholesterol in their blood and have problems with the functioning of the immune system.

Eat nori is advised in cases where there are diseases of the thyroid gland, varicose veins and atherosclerosis. Plants are also useful for strengthening the cardiovascular system.

Although extremely beneficial, nori should not be consumed by iodine intolerant people and pregnant girls.

What to cook

To prepare something exotic, housewives are increasingly using recipes with nori. With this component, you can make, for example, very tasty canapés from crab sticks. In addition to one sheet of algae, you will need wheat bread or a loaf, 120 grams of butter, six pieces of crab sticks, half a chicken egg and two stalks of green onions.

Bread will need to cut off the crust and divide it into 24 identical squares. Each piece is smearedoil previously softened at room temperature. The nori sheet is also cut into squares, such as bread, and covered with greased crumbs. Crab sticks are cut into circles and two such “pills” are laid out on half of the bread pieces.

Further on, all pieces of loaf with nori are again oiled, but they are already doing it from below (on empty bread), and attach them to slices with “pills” of crab sticks. Spread a crumb of butter on the nori squares. Two strips of green onions are attached to the oil. On top of the finished canapé spread one more circle of sticks and a piece of boiled egg.