Taku Kondo is a San Francisco sushi chef-turned expert forager from Northern California who runs the popular YouTube channel Outdoor Chef Life. (See our interview with him here.) This is Kondo’s recipe for seaweed chips (or seasoning) that you can make yourself using seaweed harvested right from the ocean.

First, a couple of caveats. People who try this recipe “should definitely know what they’re eating,” Kondo says. “A couple easy-to-identify seaweeds would be sea lettuce and laver (nori). In California, there are two types of seaweed that are illegal to take: eel grass and sea palm. Although all seaweed is technically edible, they’re not all good to eat.”

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

If you want to learn more about identifying edible seaweeds, a good book to start with is Pacific Seaweeds from Harbour Publishing. Kondo’s own book about foraging and fishing, “The Coastal Harvest” from DK Penguin Random House, should be out in spring of 2025.

Seaweed Chips

This works with any kind of edible seaweed.

Step 1: Thoroughly rinse and clean the seaweed in fresh water.

Step 2: Spread them around on a sheet tray and bake at 300 degrees for 20 minutes or until crispy.

Step 3: Toss in 1-2 tablespoons of sesame oil and a generous pinch of sea salt.

Enjoy delicious, healthy seaweed chips.

Or:

Crush seaweed chips into a bowl and add sesame seeds. Enjoy it as furikake (rice seasoning) over rice or eggs.