I’d never heard of a seaweed snack before, so when I received an offer to try Annie Chun’s Roasted Seaweed Snacks, I wasn’t sure what to think. I tried them anyway and I’m glad I did.
I like sushi and I like the rolls with seaweed wrapped around them, but I wasn’t sure how much I’d like seaweed by itself.
Annie Chun’s sent me two flavors of their seaweed snacks: sesame and wasabi. Both treats are labeled low-fat, dairy-free, and vegan. The wasabi seaweed snacks are also gluten-free.
Annie Chun’s Roasted Sesame Seaweed Snacks
I tried the sesame-flavored seaweed snacks first. The seaweed is cut into roughly 2-inch by 1-inch rectangles and roasted until crispy. The snacks are light and crunchy and wonderfully tasty.
The serving size listed on the package is 10 sheets (5 grams) and there are two servings in each package. I thought there was no way five grams of anything would suffice for a snack, but these are surprisingly filling.
The ingredients list is short: seaweed, canola oil, sesame oil, and salt. Each serving has 30 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 70 mg of sodium, 1 gram of carbohydrate, and 1 gram of protein, along with 35% of your daily amount of vitamin A and 6% of vitamin C.
Annie Chun’s Roasted Wasabi Seaweed Snacks
The wasabi seaweed snacks have a thermometer on the front of the package that indicates they are hot. That’s true, but I eat the wasabi with my sushi, so the heat didn’t bother me much. These also were delicious.
The ingredients list is a little longer because of the wasabi powder – seaweed, canola oil, wasabi flavor powder (maltodextrin, salt, modified corn starch, mustard oil), sesame oil, and brown sugar. There’s no wasabi in there. I’ve been told that the wasabi served with sushi in American restaurants is not wasabi; it’s an American horseradish. I’m okay with that, but there’s no horseradish in there, either. The heat probably comes from the mustard oil and maltodextrin and corn starch help to stick it to the seaweed.
Each serving has 30 calories, 2 grams of fat, 65 mg of sodium, 1 gram of carbohydrate, 1 gram of protein, 25% of the daily value of vitamin A and 6% of vitamin C.
As noted above, these snacks are vegan. I think they make a fine substitute for potato chips and for a quick pick-me-up in the middle of the afternoon. At 30 calories a serving (or 60 calories if I eat the whole bag anyway), these can fit in just about any diet.
Image of single seaweed snack by miheco, used with Creative Commons license.
Images of Roasted Sesame Seaweed Snacks bag and stack of seaweed snacks by Annie Chun’s.
It is outrageous that this “wasabi” product does not contain any wasabi (pure or faux). Why don’t they call it “Mustard flavoured” which is the truth? The consumer is being conned here by a greedy manufacturer who deliberately misleads the consumer.
Join the Stop Coloured Horseradish being called Wasabi! Campaign to try and get the protection we need from this “faux” wasabi!
Very interesting! There’s a sushi place here in town where you can get real wasabi if you pay extra. The one time I went to try it they were out, though. I’ve been wanting to try the real deal! Horseradish is delicious, and I agree…it’s silly to call it something it’s not when the alternative is yummy too!
Thank you for helping people get the information they need. Great stuff as usual. Keep up the great work!!!.