Nori is an edible seaweed which is dried or toasted, and often sold in sheets. Nori has been consumed in Japan and China for centuries, and is an important part of Japanese cuisine especially. Most Western consumers are familiar with nori because it is used to wrap sushi, although the distinctive salty, slightly grassy flavor is also delicious eaten plain as well. In Ireland, nori is called sloke; the Scottish call it laver.
Nori Rolls
2 cups cooked rice, hot
2 tablespoons rice or umeboshi vinegar
½ teaspoon kelp powder
4 sheets nori, toasted
Filling:
¼ cup grated cucumber
Dash soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted
Mix up filling and set aside
Mix vinegar and kelp with rice
Place a sheet of nori on a small bamboo mat
Spread ½ rice over the sheet, leaving a 2-inch edge uncovered at the end of the sdheet
Arrange ¼ of filling in a line across the middle on the rice. Roll the nori in the mat.
Place roll with seam down to seal
Slice 1 inch thick
Variation:
Use any grain or cooked vegetable combination. Mix umeboshi plum pulp or paste, or natto miso with the grain. Shrimp, crab and fish can also all be added to the nori rolls.
Healing Properties:
Very cooling thermal nature; sweet-and-salty flavor; increases yin fluids; diuretic; softens nodules; transforms and resolves heat-induced phlegm.
Nutritional Content:
Highest protein content(48% of dry weight) and most easily digested of the seaweeds; rich in vitamins A, B, and niacin.
