cHow Divine is all about simple, healthy, tasty recipes, with a Korean flair. We use fresh, seasonal ingredients that taste great and are easy to prepare. 
Roasted or Toasted Seaweed Snacks (Gim)
Definition of GIM: Laver or Dried Seaweed (Nori in Japanese)
Ever since Trader Joe’s came in to New York City, I see people eating those toasted seaweed snacks everywhere. I get them occasionally, but I usually just make them at home. I like them right off the heat – super crispy and warm. That how I’ve always eaten them.
Growing up, my grandmother made these seaweed snacks (simply known as “gim” in Korea) at least 2-3 times a week. I remember her brushing oil and sprinkling salt on dried seaweed. She would then roll them up and wrap them tightly with aluminum foil until she was ready to toast them over fire. Even with the prepackaged seaweed snacks readily available in stores, she would always make them at home. She was adamant that fried foods or foods cooked in oil should be consumed right away – not packaged for shipping! My grandmother was a smart cookie. Heat does accelerate the rancidity of oils after all!
Besides, these seaweed snacks are very easy to make. I love Trader Joe’s as much as (or even more than) the next person, but the homemade stuff is so much better in taste and in health. You can use as much or as little oil and salt as you’d like. And you can experiment with different types of oils and salts. I usually use 1:1 ratio of canola and sesame oil. But you can just use canola oil or sesame oil alone. Grapeseed oil can be used in place of canola oil as well. And I almost always use pink Himalayan salt.
Additionally, you can use different types of cooking methods. You can toast them directly over medium heat/fire (I don’t recommend this unless you are an expert or own a nice flat grilling basket with a handle). You can toast them in a pan. Or you can roast them in the oven. Whichever method you choose, they will taste delicious. Simply enjoy them as a snack or enjoy them as a part of a wrap. Personally, I love wrapping some brown rice and pickled vegetables with them. So yummy!
Toasted (or Roasted) Seaweed Snacks Recipe
Ingredients
8 sheets gim (laver, dried seaweed, or nori)
1 TB canola oil
1 TB sesame oil
sea salt
- Stir together canola oil and sesame oil in a small bowl. Place one sheet of laver on parchment paper or aluminum foil. Brush the laver lightly with oil with a basting brush. Salt the laver lightly. Place the second laver ON TOP OF the first laver. Repeat with oil and salt. Repeat with rest of the laver.
- Roll up the laver sheets. Wrap them up tightly in parchment or aluminum foil until you’re ready to toast them (15 minutes – 1 hour). This will allow the laver to “marinate,” allowing the oil and salt to absorb evenly.
- Heat a large pan over medium heat. Once heated, place one sheet of laver on the pan. Allow the bottom side to toast until it turns a greenish hue. Turn over the laver using a spatula or tongs once the first side is toasted and allow the other side to toast. Once laver is crisp and toasted on both sides, take it out of the pan. Repeat with rest of the laver. *
- Once toasted, stack them on top of one another and cut into rectangles (or other shape you choose) using a sharp knife or kitchen shears.
*Cook’s Note: On medium heat, it should take about 45 seconds – 1 minute per side. On low heat (not simmer), it should take about 1 minute – 1 1/2 minutes per side. However, this is just a guideline as stove top temperatures may vary. You can also roast them in seconds directly over medium heat/fire (my grammy’s method 
), if you have a flat grilling basket with a handle. Alternatively, you can roast the seaweed in the oven for about 15 minutes (depending on the oven) at 250-275 degrees. If you are roasting them in the oven, you can cut the seaweed into smaller pieces before you put them in the oven.
Additionally, you are oiling and salting ONLY ONE SIDE of the laver! The oil and salt will distribute evenly on both sides by the virtue of the method in preparation.
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I love seaweed snacks! I buy them all the time, but yes I’ve thought about making my own… yours look so very good!
I hope you give these a try. It will become easier and easier every time you make them. In no time, you’ll be able to make them in your sleep!
These were not snacks, but part of a meal I had almost everyday as a child. It was actually kind of funny when a non-Korean friend told me (years ago) that they were like the healthy potato chips!
These look so delicious. I didn’t know you could toast them. My son and I take some right out of the package and munch on them as snacks. I’ll bet they would taste so good toasted in the oven. thank you.
They are really yummy warm. You should try wrapping a little bit of brown rice with them as well. Healthy and so good!
Ha! As soon as I saw the title, I thought, like the seaweed snack at Trader Joe’s! I love those! Although, I have to admit, that it only take me about 5 minutes to eat half the box. Making your own sounds like a much better way to go!
One of the reasons why I make my own – other than the taste – is that I can go through them very quickly! So when I make my own, I use less salt. That way I won’t be drinking water all night!
I can’t tell how much I want to just jump up and go buy some seaweed and makes these. These must be really, really tasty with the sesame oil and salt infused into the seaweed! What a absolutely fabulous snack!
They do make a really fabulous snack. So addictive! It’s nice making them at home. It’s a treat eating them right off the stovetop or the oven!
Yay, love seaweed snacks! Never thought about making it though but this doesn’t look too difficult… hope to give it a try when I have the time
Thanks for sharing!
Hey Ames! Not difficult at all. Give it a try!
Hello
Can the roasted seaweed be made from rinsed and soaked salt packed Miyeok? It is what I have on hand, and I often make Wakame Salad, but I’m in the mood for some ‘chips’! Thanks so much for all of the delicious info you give!
Hi Bethany! Unfortunately, wakame/miyeok isn’t suitable for this. You need the flat rectangular seaweed or “gim” for this. I wouldn’t want you to waste your miyeok roasting it.
thank you so much! I will follow the provided instructions
You’re welcome! Another thing, I think you’ll be able to get “gim” at a lower price at Korean markets, rather than at a specialty store.
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help! I was given 2 packs of toasted sea weed. Do your directions start with raw sea weed? If so how do I modify for pre-toasted
John
Hi John! I’ve used both types – toasted and not toasted – to make this. They both toast (or re-toast) so quickly, it shouldn’t make that much of a difference in preparation. You can basically follow the instructions as is. But if it is already toasted, I’m guessing it already has a greenish hue. If it does, that would not be a good indicator of doneness. But if you do this on the stovetop, you will see the seaweed shrink up a bit as it is being heated (as the moisture is sucked up). Turn over the seaweed once it starts to shrink, and heat for few more seconds. You can do this directly over heat if you have one of those flat grilling baskets. If not, you can use a pan. The seaweed will become crispy once it’s done.
Undoubtedly, you will get better results with Korean gim (seaweed). They are usually thinner and not toasted. They crisp up amazingly well. But the nori you have will be tasty nonetheless.
15 minutes in the oven?? Wouldn’t that reduce the nori to smudges of carbon on the cooking sheet?
I have tried it out, and I did not have them in that long!
I also used pumpkin seed oil, since I did not happen to have sesame oil, that was also tasty!
Hey GHN! It would depend on the oven I guess.
My oven at 250 degrees is like on dehydration mode! But I’m so glad you tried this out and liked it. Pumpkin seed oil, huh? I’ve never tried it before. Now you have me intrigued!
Hi, I love the seaweed from Trader Joes as well, but if you read the ingredients it appears to be an unhealthy snack seeing as though it is nearly 70% fat (divide calories from fat by grams of fat). Bummer! Make me feel better about eating them please.
Tony
Surely Tony! For the sake of full disclosure, I haven’t had the TJ’s seaweed snack in ages; so I don’t know the exact ingredients. But you have to take into account that seaweed is a VERY healthy, low-calorie food. A large rectangular sheet of seaweed is only about 8 calories, which means cut into 8 pieces (about the size of each sheet of TJ’s snacks), the calorie count comes to about 1 calorie/piece. So if you are putting any type of fat on it, whether it be healthy or unhealthy, it will make up the bulk – probably majority – of the calories. Even if the fat calorie only comes to about 2 or 3 calories per piece, mathematically, it will be ~70% of the calories.
What I’m trying to say is, in this case, you can’t just look at the calories in a vacuum – but in totality of the situation. Look at the ingredients. If they are using healthy fats, I would have no qualms about eating them. But of course, I make my own. It’s healthier, and you have total control over what you put on the seaweed. Hope this helps Tony!
I’m SO very thankful that you posted this. Seaweed snacks are so addicting, and I’ve been craving them for a long time, but they are WAAAAY too expensive to buy pre-made. So thank you for providing me with a cheaper, healthier way to make these wonderful bites of joy!
Thank you for your comment Melissa! I’m so happy you found it helpful. And I’m glad you mentioned the price of seaweed snacks. They are TOO expensive – especially for the teeny amount they give you in the package!
I hope you are having a wonderful week and have a great (long) weekend!
thank you, thank you so much.
you saved me from Bankruptcy.
since I discovered this delicious snack I became an addict
now I can get high on my own supply
You’re so welcome! I’m glad I can be of any help in keeping you solvent.
It’s always better to be your own supplier when you need a fix, right? They are so expensive!
Hope you had a lovely weekend!
So glad I came across this! I had several sheets of nori leftover from maki sushi and was thinking about toasting them with salt but didn’t have the know-how to experiment, and now I do!
Question for you, when using the oven method, do you leave the sheets of nori stacked on one another or as separate sheets?
Hi Taylor, thanks for coming by the site! I’m glad you found the information useful. If you are using an oven, lay them out separately in a single layer. And you can cut them before putting them in the oven. Additionally, check for doneness/crispness at about 5-7 minutes. I find that ovens vary in strength esp in the lower temperatures. I hope you enjoy them!
hello! how can I maintain the crispiness of nori when I pack them and how long will it last?
Hi Hazel! We usually put it in an Air-Tight container or bag and store it in the Freezer. I don’t think we ever stored it past 2-3 days, because we usually finished it by then.
It would also depend on the humidity level. But if you feel that they absorbed moisture and have become limp, you can simply toast it for a few seconds over fire/pan or a few minutes in the oven.
I hope this helps. Have a lovely rest of the weekend!