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It may seem odd to put seaweed in cookies, but trust me, the mix of savory, slightly briny, sweet, and buttery somehow works and is used in many Asian sweets. The type of seaweed to look for is kimjaban. Generally used as a topping for rice or noodles, it’s seasoned (usually with sesame oil, sugar, and salt), roasted, and shredded or crumbled. To finely crush them, put the kimjaban in a plastic bag and roll them with a rolling pin. If you have sheets of seasoned roasted seaweed (kim), though, you can use those, too. Just chop them before using.
Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, letting some paper overhang on opposite sides to act as handles; set aside.
Combine the all-purpose flour, rice flour, and kosher salt in a sifter and sift into a large bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the seaweed and set aside.
In a large bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, 11/2 to 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, add the sugar, and beat on high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the flour mixture and beat on low until the dough resembles wet sand and holds together when squeezed.
Press evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes until light golden. Set the baking pan on a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Leave the oven on.
Using the parchment paper as handles, lift the shortbread out of the pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut the shortbread (while on the paper) into thirds and then into roughly 3/4-inch-wide pieces.
Brush the tops lightly with the egg wash and sprinkle with some sugar, the remaining 2 tablespoons seaweed, and flaky sea salt. Transfer the pieces to a baking sheet and spread them out so they’re not touching.
Bake for 10 minutes, so the sides dry out a bit, and then set aside until cool.
Store in an airtight container.
Excerpted from KOREAN FOOD MADE SIMPLE © 2016 by Judy Joo. Photography © 2016 by Jean Cazals. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
