Seaweed, salty and cold, has the following medicinal functions:
- Clears heat, transforms phlegm nodules
- Promotes urination
- Modern Research: lowers cholesterol
- Modern Research: binds heavy metals to cleanse them from the body
Here is a recipe for seaweed salad using hijiki seaweed, given to me by my friend Junko. It is possible to substitute another type of seaweed.
Ingredients:
- Dry hijiki – 1 package
- Fresh lotus root – 3 smaller ones
- Carrots
- Green beans
- Inari nomoto – 1 can (soybean)
- Oil
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- mirin sake
- miso paste
- bonito flakes
Soak dried hijiki in water for 20 minutes. Strain and set aside.
Prepare the veggies: peel the skin off the lotus roots, cut carrots, green beans, and inari nomoto into medium pieces.
Add oil to frying pan or wok. Stir-fry lotus root, add a little water to steam cook . Add carrots and cover. Then, add green beans at the end.
Add 1 tablespoon sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon mirin sake. Add bonito flakes. Once everything is stir-fried, add hijiki and a little oil. Continue to cook on medium heat. Then add salt, and possibly more sugar and mirin to taste. Also, you can add soy sauce to taste.
Link to inari nomoto: http://www.mountfuji.co.uk/acatalog/Mount_Fuji_Sushi_Seasoning___Sprinkles_44.html
My mom would make hijiki sometimes, since I grew up in a Japanese household. It’s one of those foods people either love or hate, but it definitely has great health benefits!
Do you have any tasty hijiki recipes to share, Misono?