Hijiki Salad - Hijiki Nimono

Hijiki salad served in a bowl made by one of my students.

Well, not exactly a salad. It's "nimono"-- a simmered dish, but it can be served hot, or cold like a salad. Components for this dish can vary, but the usual suspects include carrot, lotus root (renkon), either edamame or soybeans (daizu), agedofu and, of course, hijiki. Hijiki is a sea vegetable that is high in fiber and minerals and can be got either fresh or dried.

I was inspired to start making this dish thanks to kyushoku (school lunches)-- which sounds a bit funny to me since lunch at my school sometimes has the feel of prison food. But I liked the taste and texture of hijiki nimono and I thought this would be a nice, healthy dish to work into my J-cuisine repertoire. This was before I heard about the arsenic.

It turns out that despite the fact that hijiki has long been part of the Japanese diet, and enjoys a favorable reputation for it's health benefits, some counties caution against eating the twig-like weed as it contains trace amounts of inorganic arsenic. Japanese officials insist that washing and cooking hijiki, and eating it in moderation is perfectly safe, even for pregnant women. Hey, I've been making this dish once every couple of months and so far no convulsions or night blindness.

And on that note, here's the recipe:

To reconstitute dried hijiki, let it soak in cold water for about 20-30 minutes. Then, drain it and rinse thoroughly. (The fresh stuff should also get a thorough wash in cold water.) You'll notice that when rehydrated, hijiki expands quite a lot. 3 tablespoons should be enough to make sides for 4 people.

3 tbsp dried hijiki, reconstituted as directed above
1/3 cup agedofu
1 carrot, cut into thin, rectangular bars
1/2 renkon, sliced into half rounds
1/2 cup edamame
1/3 cup dashi stock
1 tbsp sake
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp mirin
Vegetable oil for frying (I sometimes use a light sesame oil in this.)

Serves 4
Time: 20 minutes

Pour boiling water over the agedofu to remove excess oil. Pat dry and slice into 1 inch lengths of about 1/4 inch thickness.

Boil edamame until tender, then shock in cold water and drain. Set aside. If you are using frozen edamame, like I did, put them in a small bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let stand for a couple of minutes before draining.

Fry the carrot and renkon for a few minutes. Then add the agedofu and hijiki. Fry at medium heat for another minute or two.

Add the dashi, sake, sugar, and soy sauce. Simmer on medium heat until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Add the edamame and the mirin. I like to add mirin at the end as it gives food a glossy sheen. Cook for another minute and remove from heat.