Sunday, November 22, 2009

SEAWEED STICKS 'N NORI NIBBLES


These nibbles were good, crispy and fun to make (save the washing up) and I'm glad that my children liked them. Twisted and rolled with seaweed caught in between it makes a nice, dainty savoury nibble. A light snack. Very good to serve with a glass of ice cold lemon tea or with a mug of Nescafe thickened with lots of milk.

I made them using a short crust pastry recipe. But instead of rubbing the butter in until they resembled fine breadcrumbs I grated a block of frozen butter over a bowl of sifted flour so that they gathered into a pile of pretty, lush and golden curls like a little girl's eyelashes. I mixed them up very, very lightly with my finger tips so that each sumptuous golden lash was lightly coated with flour and then sprinkled 5 to 6 tablespoons of ice cold water into the mix.


I mixed it with a fork and then used my fingers to bring the dough together. NO KNEADING AT ALL. You don't want the butter and flour blending in smoothly. All that was needed were some gentle squeezes and a few pats, I then wrapped the dough in cling film and placed it in the freezer for a few minutes to chill and firm up.


Those flaky curls of butter did so much to give this pastry a crisp and layer-y effect that it almost seemed like a rough puff pastry.

I used seaweed as a flavouring because I have been having the Nori seaweed laying around for ages. And of course because I lOVE Nori.


The recipe...................



8 oz plain flour, sifte
4 oz frozen block of butter, salted
5-6 T of ice cold water

4 sheets of Nori seaweed
1 egg, beaten salt n pepper

Place the sifted flour into a medium bowl. Grate the frozen butter over the flour. With your finger tips gather the flour and butter very lightly until the butter flakes are evenly covered in flour. Sprinkle the ice cold water over the flour butter mix and using a fork at first stir to bring the dough together.

Then using your fingers WITHOUT KNEADING gather the dough and pat it into a firm ball. Shape into a square. Wrap in cling film and place in the freezer for about 10 minutes until the dough is a little firmer.

Divide the dough into quarters. Take one quarter, keeping the rest in the freezer again.

Roll out the portion of dough until quite thin or very slightly larger than the nori sheet. Make sure it is squarish like the Nori sheet. Brush the rolled out dough with the beaten egg, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place the seaweed sheet over it. Brush he seaweed sheet with beaten egg and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

At this point you might have decided to make sticks or spirals.

If making sticks : Just fold the pastry lined seaweed into half lengthwise. Press down lightly with a rolling pin just to ensure that the pastry sticks to the seaweed. Cut with a pizza cutter or with a pair of scissors into 10 strips. Twist each stick a little if you wish. Do the same with the rest of the portions of pastry. You will get 40 sticks/strips in all.


If making spirals : Instead off folding the pastry over you roll up the pastry into a log. You then place the roll into the freezer until it is quite hard but not rock hard. Take it out and slice into discs about 1/4 inch thick. I think you would be able to get about 15 to 20 discs from each log. I forget exactly.


Place the sticks or discs about 1/2 inch apart and bake in a preheated oven at 170 C for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Store in an airtight container or serve immediately.




44 comments:

Elin Chia said...

Zurin...this looks good and I know it will taste good too just looking thru my Window :) thanks for sharing this recipe and the tips. Will definitely try this out. :)

Ozoz said...

These would be great using store-bought puff pastry as well...looks really good nad the sound of lemon tea is good with me! kitchenbutterfly.com

Ju (The Little Teochew) said...

Posh sticks and pretty swirls, Zu! I could never get my swirls to look so neat (I am eating the evidence right now - some disfigured cinnamon rolls, which fortunately taste better than they look). Hmmm ... I would have these nori nibbles with teh terik! Loved the way you described the grated butter curls! :)

Ju

La Table De Nana said...

I love the idea of seaweed..I would have never thought of that..and they look so cute straight up or around the block:)

Quinn said...

Awesome Zu! I could see they are very flaky and your pictures already make me drool!!!!

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

I always impressed with your plating, I must learn from you. This look really crispy and everything with seaweed, must be nice.

Angie's Recipes said...

Nori Nibbles!! I love it! I definitely make these! Thanks for sharing such a wonderful snack recipe!

Unknown said...

I have tried some weeks ago, but they were not so much beautifull as yours
I keep your recipe et I try again,
thank you

Ninette said...

love your technique!!

Anonymous said...

This looks yummy, I love nori too so will have to try this out sometime. Thanks for the recipe. :)

Anonymous said...

Zurin, what a clever idea! Love the presentation and I absolutely love nori snacks :)

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

This looks so good. I love what you made.

terri@adailyobsession said...

it looks and sounds terrific--i'd like to order some!

Federica Simoni said...

wow davvero sfiziosi!

Gala said...

Yum, I would love to try these sometime. Great idea.

Nadji said...

Je fais la même chose que toi et c'est très très bon.
A bientôt.

GFAD said...

Mmmm.. looks very, very moreish!! I will add some curry powder to the salt and pepper to jazz it up a bit. Great with beer, ya?

BTW, do you reckon baking will work with those seaweed-popiah skin crackers instead of deep frying?

kat

Zurin said...

Elin, tq :)n i hope you do try them. :)

Ozoz, oh yes puff pastry wld be perfct indeed! :)

Ju, tq :)Teh tarik wld be perfect Ju! :)

Monique, tq, seaweed did make it taste nice and savoury ! :)

Quinn, oh yes they are a quite flaky n def crispy. :)

Sonia, anything with seaweed is nice indeed!! :))

Angie, welcome, hope u wl try make them :))

Chapot, I hope u try them too...but I'm sure yours was very delicious! :))

Ninette,I learnt it from tv! :))

Breadetbutter, i do hope you'll try make them...very fun :))

Ellie, nori is always good isn't it :))

Helene, Tq wish I could give you some! :))

Terri, wish I cld give u some too! :))

Federica, tq glad you like them! :))

Gala, you must give it a go one day ! :))

S et G, :)) really? we think alike! how lovely :))

Zurin said...

GFAD, I used pepper n it gave quite a bite actually so curry powder wld be even more piquant m sure!

The popia skin ones...well m not sure..perhaps maybe and probably...gotta try!!!! but i do think it might need the oil to brown it...pastry has butter so popia skin mite need the oil.:)))

fimere said...

c'est beau et bon, j'adore
à bientôt

Anonymous said...

Please really consider cooking classes!

zerrin said...

Zurin, these are awesome! Although this kind of snacks are generally thought great for kids, we (hubby and I)love to eat such pastries every now and then. I showed the pictures in this post to my husband and he asks when I can do these :) Iwill definitely try these maybe with an addition of nigella sativa very soon.
And yes, our names are so similar:)Where is yours originally from? Mine is Turkish and means 1) a flower called daffodil 2)made of gold.
Are they similar in their meanings, too?

Faida said...

I've been looking for this recepi. I like the sticks. Thanks for sharing this. Looks like I already have a few in mind. Eid is coming.Just nice.

3 hungry tummies said...

They look very tasty and crunchy!! I'm so full now but I can easily have some!!

2 Stews said...

What a great idea! I love seaweed salad and find other ways to eat seaweed, but this is right up my alley. They would be great for entertaining also. And buttery eyelashes? Who could resist?

Thanks!

Diane

Federica Simoni said...

Ciao! grazie 1000 dei tuoi gentilissimi commenti!! grazie!

Barbara said...

Delicious, Zurin! Very elegant too!
Your photos are making me drool!

Through My Kitchen Window said...

Ahh you clever lady. I haven't made real pastry for a while but that is definitely one of the 'secret' tricks to a successful dough. Frozen, grated butter. I was wondering when to divulge this myself but you have beaten me to it. I once won a competition based on the grated, frozen butter method. Well done and well revealed.

Anonymous said...

They're so clever and I like how we can make two very different looking things! :D

Anonymous said...

What a great touch with nori! I would've never imagined it to be part of a baked snack. Thanks for the recipe! And yes, absolutely perfect looking swirls you've got there :)

Divina Pe said...

This would be a great giveaway for Christmas. Something very pretty and unique.

S said...

zurin i adore this. what an amazing idea. i love nori. this is a wonderful snack to serve guests before dinner. i shall try it and let you know.

S said...

and btw, zurin, in case you also celebrate Eid, Eid Mubarak! x

pigpigscorner said...

Great idea adding nori, adds such a nice flavour!

Unknown said...

hello zurin
beautiful photos for a nice recipe thanks for the sharing !! cheers from Paris Pierre

Cathy said...

Your seaweed sticks sound delicious and make a beautiful presentation. They would be perfect to serve with drinks through the holiday.

Anonymous said...

pretty swirls zurin!
sounds awesome with seaweed :)
thanks for sharing such an easy recipe.
just what i need when im feeling greedy but lazy.
heh.

Zurin said...

Thank you all for your kind comments. It is very much appreciated :))

Shayma, eid mubarak to you too :)

Cakebrain said...

I think my kids would just love these! they look like seaweed pocky!

Marysol said...

I can't decide which look prettier, the sticks or the spirals. But the seaweed concept is certainly new to me.

You must've loved playing with your food as a child, to always come up with such innovative ideas.

Zurin said...

Tq all again for your lovely words! :))

Marysol, I loved playdough...perhaps that explains my love for pastry :))

Jess said...

Hi Zurin, I am planning to make these nori stick for New Year party - do you think they will stay crispy if I bake them a day before? (and maybe store in the fridge?) Or are they better warm just our of the oven?

Zurin said...

Jess.

its ok to make a day before but store in an airtight container and keep at room temperature. Not in the fridge. happy New Year! :))

Jess said...

Happy New Year Zurin! I would like to thank you for this (and many other) delicious recipe. It was a hit at the party and everyone loved it! I dusted some cayenne pepper to add a touch of spice. Looking forward to more new recipes on your site. :-)

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