Recipe: Fresh foraged seaweed chips with sesame oil and sea salt

Taku Kondo of the YouTube channel “Outdoor Chef Life” gives his preparation for delicious, nutritious seaweed treats.

Taku Kondo is a San Francisco sushi chef turned Northern California expert forager who runs the popular YouTube channel Outdoor Chef Life. (You can read our interview with him here.) This is Kondo’s recipe for seaweed chips (or seasoning), which you can make at home with seaweed harvested directly from the Pacific Ocean.

First, some disclaimers. People who attempt this recipe “should definitely know what they’re eating,” according to Kondo. “Sea lettuce and laver (nori) are two easily identified seaweeds.” Eel grass and sea palm are two types of seaweed that are illegal to take in California. Although all seaweed is technically edible, not all of it is edible.”

To legally harvest seaweed, you must also have a fishing license. “The current seaweed limit is 10 pounds wet weight,” Kondo says, adding that harvesting in Marine Protected Areas is prohibited. “All information is available on the website of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.”

Pacific Seaweeds by Harbour Publishing is a good place to start if you want to learn more about identifying edible seaweeds. “The Coastal Harvest,” Kondo’s book about foraging and fishing, will be published by DK Penguin Random House in the spring of 2025.

Chips made from seaweed

Seaweed Chips

Step 1: Rinse and clean the seaweed thoroughly in fresh water.

Step 2: Arrange them on a sheet tray and bake at 300°F for 20 minutes, or until crispy.

Step 3: Add 1-2 tablespoons sesame oil and a generous pinch of sea salt to taste.

Enjoy tasty, healthy seaweed chips.

Or:

In a bowl, combine seaweed chips and sesame seeds. Furikake (rice seasoning) it over rice or eggs.