Fry a piece of dried dulce seaweed for sixty seconds and it will taste almost like bacon - smokey, salty, savoury and crisp.
Wait - seaweed that tastes like bacon?
Yes., well...sort of... let's be honest and up front, because we have been hearing this for a decade.
Dulse does not taste exactly like bacon. It has none of the fat, the maillard reaction and has a different texture. What it does have is the smoke, the salt, a deep savouriness and it crisps up, plus it tastes a bit like the sea. It is bacon-like, which is why chefs building plant-based menus keep reaching for it and everyone wants to do a side-by-side comparison.
If you are expecting a bacon equivalent, you will be disappointed, but if you are happy with a smoky, salty, crunchy thing to scatter over your breakfast, you will be delighted! Dulse is a genuinely great cupboard ingredient.
What is dulse?
Dulse (Palmaria palmata) is a red seaweed that grows on rough Atlantic shorelines, around Ireland, Scotland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and the eastern coasts of Canada and the US. It is able to endure the fierce battering of strong waves those coastlines take.
People have been eating it in Ireland and Scotland for centuries, long before anyone thought of comparing it to a rasher of bacon. It was a famine food, an everyday food and was sold by street vendors as a tasty snack.
When dulse is dried it looks like strips of dark reddish brown leather. Stored in an airtight container it can keep for months, it also costs very little.
What to put it on
This is less of a dish and more of a seasoning, use it over:
- Avocado toast - a very successful combination
- Baked potatoes - add butter or a plant-based alternative on the potato before topping with fried dulse
- Scrambled tofu - gives a smoky flavour to scrambled tofu
- Salads - like crunchy croutons
- Soups and chowders - added at the last minute so they remain crisp
- Popcorn - blend to a powder and sprinkle on top
Where to buy dulse
Fresh dulse is highly perishable so it is best to buy dried dulse. It is sold as flakes or whole fronds. It is best to buy whole fronds for this recipe as flakes will burn quickly.
- Health food shops - most stock it, usually near the sea vegetables or macrobiotic section
- Irish and Scottish seaweed producers - several producers harvest sustainably and sell online, this is where you will find best quality
- Larger supermarkets - increasingly stock it in the world food or health aisle
- Asian grocers - dulse is less common than nori or wakame, but worth asking
A single bag will last a long time as long as it is kept dry in a cool area of the kitchen.
Frequently asked questions
Dulse tastes remarkably close to bacon, it is smoky, salty and savoury with a crisp texture but it is not the same. Dulse does not have the full flavour profile of bacon, so it is best used as a smoky, savoury seasoning rather than as a like-for-like bacon substitute.
Dulse is low in calories and fat, high in fibre, with good amounts of iron, potassium and magnesium. Like most seaweeds it also contains iodine which is genuinely important for a plant-based diet. However, iodine levels in seaweed can vary and more is not better, so it is best to eat it as part of a balanced diet rather than snacking on it.
Yes, dried dulse can be eaten straight from the packet. It will be, slightly tough and chewy and mildly salty with a clean and pleasant aftertaste. Frying develops gives it a smoky, bacon-like flavour.
Dulse burns easily because it is dry with low moisture content and it's very thin, so it cooks very quickly in under a minute. If it burns, the pan was probably too hot or it was cooked for too long. Keep an eye on it and control the heat so the oil in the pan does not start smoking. The moment the dulse darkens, remove it from the heat.
No. Although both are red seaweeds, nori is processed into paper-thin sheets and used for sushi. Dulse is sold as whole dried fronds and has a much stronger, smokier flavour.
Yes you can, dry fry the dulse in a hot pan. It crisps perfectly well. The oil mainly helps carry the smoked paprika if you're using it.
Want to know more about seaweed?
Dulse is just one of a whole range of edible seaweeds. Some are smoky, some sweet, others pop on the tongue like caviar. If you'd like to know where they come from, how they're made and why we should be eating more of them:
Read Seaweed: Should we be eating more of it?
Recipe
Dulse 'Bacon' Bits
Ingredients
- dried dulse 15 g
- vegetable oil 1 teaspoon
- smoked paprika pinch
Instructions
- Warm 1 teaspoon vegetable oil vegetable oil in a large frying pan on medium heat (don't let it smoke).
- Add 15 g dried dulse in a single layer and fry for 45-60 seconds, turning once, until it curls up at the sides, darkens and turns crisp. Control the heat as it can go from done to burnt in seconds.
- Remove and place on kitchen paper to drain, it will crisp further before it cools. Sprinkle pinch smoked paprika over the top while still warm.
Notes
Only you will see your notes and you can edit them anytime.
Nutrition
Nutritional information calculated automatically per serving, accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
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