Recipe - Simmered Hijiki ひじきの煮物

Cooking with sea vegetables is a wonderful way to add minerals and nutrients to any diet. Low in calories and rich in fiber, I always feel better after eating some sea vegetables. In our kitchen we use kombu, wakame, nori, aosa, aonori, kanten, and hijiki.

This simmered hijiki dish is relatively easy to prepare and will keep for several days in the fridge. It has a prominent place in Shinji's bento box, adding both black and orange to a colorful bento.

Simmered Hijiki
1/4 cup hijiki (dried)
2 pieces deep-fried tofu (abura-age)
1 small carrot
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup dashi
2 Tablespoons mirin
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce

Rehydrate the hijiki in water until tender (follow instructions on package). Boil some water and pour over the deep-fried tofu to rid of excess oil. Julienne carrot. Cut deep-fried tofu into small pieces. After the hijiki is rehydrated, drain of excess water.

In a saute pan saute the carrots until color changes or until the texture changes. Add to the pan the hijki and deep-fried tofu and saute for about 2 minutes.

Add dashi, mirin, sugar, and soy sauce.

Simmer until most of the liquid dissipates. As it is simmering taste the broth and adjust flavors as you like.

Allow to cool to room temperature before storing in the fridge. Can be eaten at room temperature.


Note on bento contents:
Salmon rice in top half.
Bottom half from left to right: simmered hijiki, tamagoyaki, kinpira gobo, pickled cucumbers, carrots, and turnips, and some grilled fish (not sure which one).

Hijiki

Aburage

Hijiki Nimono

Recipe - Miso Soup みそ汁

I love starting my mornings with a bowl of miso soup. The savory, salty, and warm soup changes depending on the type of miso and what ingredients we put in the soup pot. Some of my favorites are asari (clams), aonori (a type of sea vegetable), and slippery, slimy nameko mushrooms as seen here.

There are many types of miso. The sweet white miso, that is often used to marinate fish in, is based on rice and is called komemiso. There is a dense, almost fudge like in color miso that is made from soybeans called mamemiso. There is a chunky, earthy miso made from barley called mugimiso.

Miso will keep for a long time in the freezer. Put the miso into a tupperware. Don't worry, it won't freeze, you do not need to defrost it, just spoon out, it will be like ice cream. Once you have a collection of miso, it is fun to start blending the misos.

3 cups dashi
1/2 cup nameko mushrooms
1/2 tofu cake (I prefer the silken tofu for miso soup), cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup wakame (this amount is the rehydrated amount if you are starting with dried wakame), chopped
2 stalks green onions, sliced thinly
4 Tablespoons miso
shichimi (seven spice) optional

In a pot combine the dashi, mushrooms, tofu, and wakame. Heat until everything is cooked through. Add miso, it is easiest if you can incorporate the miso in a strainer into the soup. Cook until the miso is warmed up. Do not allow to boil once the miso is added.

Serve in bowls. Garnish with green onions and shichimi.

Recipes - Kanten 寒天

Kanten is a sea vegetable that can be used in the kitchen as a substitute for animal based gelatin. It peaked in popularity in Japan a few years ago as part of a diet trend. Rich in fiber and low in calories it is easy to work with in the kitchen. This article first appeared in Metropolis magazine and offers tips and ideas for cooking with kanten.

http://archive.metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/602/localflavors.asp

Konnyaku こんにゃく

Konnyaku is low in calories, rich in fiber and comes in a variety of forms. This one is like spaghetti noodles flavored with aosa, a type of nori. It comes with a ponzu sauce that you sprinkle over it and is eaten cold. I topped this with some nori to add crunch to the dish. A great vegetarian option if you are looking to expand your repertoire. Best of all, it is just open and eat.