Braised Hijiki Salad

Can you tell that I lived in Japan for ten years?

About once a month I get a serious hankering for Japanese-style braised hijiki salad, a combination of hijiki seaweed, carrots and gobo (burdock root) simmered slowly in a broth of soy sauce and mirin, and drizzled with toasted sesame oil.

Hijiki is a strongly flavored seaweed that grows in small black strands and packs a real nutritional punch. It has ten times the calcium of milk and is a rich source of iron, zinc, magnesium, and iodine.

Braised Hijiki Salad:

1 ounce hijiki
1 medium carrot
1/2 medium gobo
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
3 tablepoons gluten free soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
1 cup water (or dashi if you have it)

Rinse hijiki well, then soak in filtered water to cover for about 20 minutes or until plump. Drain (you can use this mineral rich soak water for your plants - they'll love it).

Julienne carrot and gobo, and soak gobo in cold filtered water until ready to use.

Heat 1/2 sesame oil in large skillet, and add carrot and gobo. Stir over medium heat about 2 minutes. Add hijiki, soy sauce, mirin and water (or dashi) and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes or until liquid is fully absorbed into the seaweed.

Turn off heat and drizzle with remaining sesame oil. Serve sprinkled with sesame seeds, if desired.

Note: As will all seaweeds, please try to purchase organic or wild harvested seaweed from a reputable company. There have been warnings of contaminated hijiki and other seaweeds, the well known companies harvest from clean waters and test their products regularly for contamination.