Salted Seaweed

There are a ton of brands and varieties of Gim, and I don’t know what they sell over there,
So this is going to be a general guide on chosing Gim.

1. The Variety of Gim

A. Ordinary Gim
which looks like thin black paper with a purple hue,
and slightly changes to green when it’s roasted or fried

B. Dol Gim (Stone Gim)
which looks like a sheet of thin felt, almost coming apart.
(look at the first photo)

Has a subtle aroma,
more Crunchy & slightly Fibrous in texture,
and melts apart easily when you put it in your mouth or when it touches water.
Usually a bit more expensive

C. Parae Gim (Sea Lettuce Gim)
which looks way greener than the other two,
(look at the attached file)
Usually a mix of Gim (laver ) and Parae(Sea lettuce)
this one has a distinct flavor and aroma
Personally I think Parae Gim is the best.

2. Oil

A. Perilla seed Oil (들깨기름)
These have a wonderful strong aroma,
and is usually used on ordinary gim.
not used with Parae Gim or Dolgim.

B. Anything other than Perilla seed Oil
Just ordinary oil from soya oil , canola, to olive oil
you chose what you want. It almost doesn’t matter.

3. Salt

A. MSG included Salt
You don’t need MSG salted on your Gim. It already has some umami, so try to avoid,

B. Ordinary Salt
Just simple plain salt. Beware of the sodium intake.

C. Speciality Salt
Baked Salts, Pan Salt, Natural Salt , you name it,
These are definitely the better ones.
They taste better, and are lower in sodium.
Making it the perfect salt for Gim.

So whatever there’s out there,
Go for what you like~!

Gim is actually really easy to make and it tastes better than anything you can buy, all you need is plain untoasted laver seaweed sheets and what ever oil you like I always use sesame oil but perilla oil or olive oil would be good too. then what I do is I pour a little oil in a small bowl and I use my fingers to coat the whole sheet front and back. I find that using a brush makes the sheets too oily. then I sprinkle salt and sesame seeds on both sides. Put a griddle or a big pan on medium low heat and toast the gim untill its turned to a green color. use a spatula to press on it so it will cook better. cut the sheet in to smaller sheets that will fit in your mouth :)