Crispy Seaweed

[merrybaker]

Hello, I've recently returned from London where I saw a very interesting dish on the table next to me in a Chinese restaurant. I inquired, and was told that it was "crispy seaweed." The people were nice enough to let me try it , and I enjoyed the little taste I had. The only recipes I can find say that it's fried cabbage (savoy, bok choy, etc.). I can't believe that's what it was. It was very dark, like tiny pieces of Japanese nori. Does anyone have information on this. I'd appreciate it.

-Mary

[origamicrane]

yeah i might be breaking a chinese culinary secret

and i may hve to go into hiding in case teh triad come to chop me up

but the seaweed in uk restaurants is just that seasoned deep fried cabbage.

Now to make it sounds easy as you just shred the cabbage and deep fry it

then season with salt and sugar.

But this isn't something i would recommend

as you need to fry a lot of cabbage for a portion

and the amount of oil used and the amount of mess made is a lot. And you will need a wok not a deep fat fryer unless it is a particularly large one.

be careful if you fry this as the oil really bubbles and rises up.

[Dejah]

From another source, they used bok choi for this dish.

Wash the bok choi and let dry.

Using the leaves, roll it up like a cigar then cut into fine shreds.

These are deepfried quickly. Don't let the bok choi turn brown in oil. Drained then sprinkled with sugar and chopped toasted almonds.

Along this same vein, has anyone made deep fried spinach? I've heard people raving about it, but have not had the pleasure of tasting the real thing. I tried and got a mess of splatters and greasy spinach.

.

[canucklehead]

Deep fried spinach is served with a swatow (I have no idea what the english word for the region of China) peppery chicken stir fry. In HK they would serve the same dish with deep fried pepper leaves.

The deep fried spinach is good - crisp and delicate. But really - what isn't good deep fried?

[jo-mel]

From another source, they used bok choi for this dish.

Wash the bok choi and let dry.

Using the leaves,  roll it up like a cigar then cut into fine shreds.

These are deepfried quickly. Don't let the bok choi turn brown in oil. Drained then sprinkled with sugar and chopped toasted almonds.

Along this same vein, has anyone made deep fried spinach? I've heard people raving about it, but have not had the pleasure of tasting the real thing. I tried and got a mess of splatters and greasy spinach.

.

←

About that deep-fried spinach. The BIG thing is to have a large cover in one hand, and a handful of spinach in the other. The trick is to let go of the spinach into the oil and get your hand out of the way QUICKLY as you cover the wok with the lid! Even then, it can be messy.

I used to do this with spinach that I washed and dried carefully. With the packages of ready-to-eat / no washing spinach, in the supermarket -- it is easier, but still it is a vegetable with a hi-water content, and you are going to get that spatter, no matter what. You leave the cover on for only a short time and fry until the sizzle has just about stopped.

My classes last week had the Chou Chow chicken with the spinach. Many in the classes said that they would do the dish without the spinach, and simple place the chicken in a ring of broccoli. But there were a couple who really wanted to fry the spinach. Surprised me.

[merrybaker]

Thanks for the info. I guess crispy seaweed really isn't crispy seaweed! I'm not fond of deep frying foods, especially things that can splatter, so I'll just have to order it in restaurants.

[merrybaker]

Well, I finally worked up the courage to make so-called crispy seaweed. I used the leaves of bok-choy, since the dish I was trying to duplicate had been very dark green, and I used baby bok-choy, in particular, because I thought the leaves would be more tender. I did as Dejah recommended: cigar-rolled and shredded, and then I cut the shreds into about 1" lengths. I heated corn oil and threw in a handful of leaves and it cooked very quickly. When it looked a little darker, I removed it and drained it on paper towels. Then I tried sprinkling it with sugar, sugar and almonds, sugar and salt, and just salt. Just salt was my favorite. At first it tasted cabbagey, but a few minutes later the cabbage taste was gone and it was very delicate and crisp and delightful!

But once is enough. Origamicrane is right -- it's a mess! It's difficult to dry the leaves. The frying makes a mess and smells and uses a lot of oil. Also, some batches came out too oily (probably oil had cooled off).

It was fun, though, just to be able to duplicate something so unusual. Thanks all, for your help.

-Mary

[origamicrane]

glad you enjoyed making and eating it.

Yeah you have to let it drain and cool down before you eat it.

Usually in my place we sprinkle a little deep fried shredded fish floss to give it a more seafood flavour, you should be able to get that in oriental supermarkets too

but again that stuff can be pretty messy too!!

But once is enough. 

-Mary

←

Your comment is very apt.

There was a peking duck thread that drew the same conclusion as you

A lot of people try to recreate their favourite chinese dishes at home

and they are usually reasonably successful but they will only ever try it once

as chinese food seems to generate more mess then most other cusines!!!

And the amount of effort compared to the end result

lead most people to agree its better to go to there local chinese takeaway or restaurant!

Which is good for my industry.

[touaregsand]

What's up with calling a dish crispy seaweed if it's not?

Merrymaker-

If you are interested in crsipy seaweed that is indeed a crispy thing from the sea, you might want to try Korean deepfried dashima (kombu).

[origamicrane]

What's up with calling a dish crispy seaweed if it's not? 

Merrymaker-

If you are interested in crsipy seaweed that is indeed a crispy thing from the sea, you might want to try Korean deepfried dashima (kombu).

←

well it tastes a lot like seaweed.

whats in a name?

carpaccio, tartare, sushi, a bit of a dead animal

or twinky, fish finger, chocolate brownie

Edited May 4, 2005 by origamicrane (log)

[merrybaker]

If you are interested in crsipy seaweed that is indeed a crispy thing from the sea, you might want to try Korean deepfried dashima (kombu).

←

Why stop now? Is that (hoping you say yes) something I can buy, or something I have to fry? I have a package of Korean-style seaweed (nori) that's seasoned with sesame oil and salt, and it's great. And no frying involved!

[touaregsand]

If you are interested in crsipy seaweed that is indeed a crispy thing from the sea, you might want to try Korean deepfried dashima (kombu).

←

Why stop now? Is that (hoping you say yes) something I can buy, or something I have to fry? I have a package of Korean-style seaweed (nori) that's seasoned with sesame oil and salt, and it's great. And no frying involved!

←

Yes you can buy it fried. Or you can do it at home. It's usually freshly fried and available in the prepared foods section of Korean Supermarkets.