Crispy Seaweed Tempura Nori (Printable)

Lightly battered nori sheets fried till crisp, served with a savory dipping sauce for a delightful snack.

# What You’ll Use:

→ Seaweed

01 - 8 large nori sheets

→ Tempura Batter

02 - 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
03 - 1/4 cup cornstarch
04 - 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
05 - 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
06 - 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon ice-cold sparkling water
07 - 1 large egg yolk, chilled

→ For Frying

08 - 2 cups neutral oil such as canola or sunflower oil

→ Dipping Sauce

09 - 3 tablespoons soy sauce
10 - 2 tablespoons mirin
11 - 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
12 - 1 teaspoon sugar
13 - 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
14 - 1 spring onion, finely sliced
15 - 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds, optional

# How-To:

01 - In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, sugar, and sesame oil. Stir until sugar dissolves completely. Add sliced spring onion and sesame seeds if using. Set aside.
02 - Stack the nori sheets and cut each into quarters to yield 32 pieces total.
03 - In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt until evenly distributed.
04 - In a separate bowl, lightly beat the chilled egg yolk, then add the ice-cold sparkling water. Pour this mixture into the flour blend and gently mix with chopsticks or a fork. Do not overmix; the batter should remain slightly lumpy and cold.
05 - Heat the oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed pan to 350°F, ensuring the temperature is maintained throughout frying.
06 - Dip each nori piece quickly into the tempura batter, allowing excess to drip off, and immediately slide it into the hot oil. Fry in batches to avoid crowding, approximately 30 to 45 seconds per piece, until crisp and lightly golden.
07 - Remove fried pieces with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
08 - Serve warm with the prepared dipping sauce.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It's genuinely faster to make than ordering takeout, yet tastes like you've been practicing tempura for years.
  • The umami punch from the sauce paired with that addictive crispy-crunch texture makes it impossible to stop at just one piece.
  • You can have crispy seaweed snacks ready in under 30 minutes with ingredients you probably have tucked away already.
02 -
  • Everything—the water, the egg, your mixing bowl—needs to be as cold as you can make it; warm batter is the enemy of crispy tempura and will result in something greasy and sad instead of transcendent.
  • Oil temperature is more important than technique; if it's not hot enough, the nori absorbs oil instead of sealing, but if it's too hot, the outside burns before the nori has time to crisp, so invest in a cheap thermometer if you don't have one.
03 -
  • Keep a kitchen thermometer clipped to your oil pan so you can see the temperature at a glance and maintain it throughout frying—this single tool eliminates 90% of tempura disasters.
  • Don't rinse your nori; any surface moisture will cause the batter to separate and create weird crispy-soggy patches instead of even browning.
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