Hijiki nimono (simmered hijiki seaweed with edamame)

We had a vegetarian friend round for dinner two nights ago with some pretty challenging dietary requests. Other than the normal vegetarian restrictions, she also does not eat mushrooms, aubergine or courgettes... which cut out many vegetarian dishes in my repertoire! In the end, I cooked a vegetarian yaki udon (like in this recipe, except with sliced red and yellow peppers, red onion and mange tout/snow peas instead of beef), vegetarian tofu and leek gyoza (from a frozen pack) and a hijiki nimono side dish. A bottle of Australian Chardonnay and a dark chocolate torte dessert rounded it all off.

Nimono is a type of Japanese food in which ingredients such as fish, meat, seaweed and/or vegetables are simmered in a seasoned broth. The broth may be flavoured with dashi, miso, mirin, sake, soy sauce, salt, ginger or other condiments. I made a hijiki seaweed nimono with carrots and edamame (soy beans). Hijiki is a type of seaweed with high fibre content. They can be found in Oriental shops alongside the larger sheets of wakame seaweed. Edamame (soy beans) is also high in fibre and protein and can now be bought in many supermarkets, such as from Bird's Eye in the frozen section (alongside frozen peas). This dish can be served warm or cold, depending on the season. Any extra will keep well in the fridge for a few days, with the ingredients soaking up even more flavour from the stock.


(This photo has been submitted to the SnackShots #4: Salad blog event held by Michelle of Greedy Gourmet.)

Ingredients (serves 4-5 as a side dish or starter):

20g dried hijiki seaweed
50g edamame (frozen is fine)
1 small carrot, thinly sliced or cut into matchsticks
100ml dashi stock (I used vegetable stock)
1 tbsp mirin
4 tsp sake (or dry white wine)
4 tsp light soy sauce
4 tsp sugar

Method:

1. Soak the dried hijiki seaweed in cold water for about 30 minutes. The seaweed will expand about 5 times in volume so find an appropriate sized bowl. Drain well and set aside.



2. Heat some oil in a pan and cook the carrots and edamame over medium heat for a minute. Then add the hijiki and pour over stock, sake, light soy sauce and sugar. Bring to the boil and then simmer until the liquid is reduced and mostly absorbed (about 5 minutes), stirring occasionally. Serve hot or cold.



I am submitting this recipe to the Beautiful Bones blog event run by Food Blogga, to help raise awareness of osteoporosis (a disease in which bones become fragile and more likely to break, affecting mostly women but not just the elderly). Hijiki seaweed contains about 14 times more calcium than milk, and is also rich in iron and fiber. Edamame, like most soy products is also rich in calcium. Many Asians are mildly lactose intolerant as diary is not traditionally part of the diet, so if you are not keen on milk, cheese and other diary products, try eating more seaweed, legumes, soy and green leafy vegetables to up your calcium intake. This blog event runs until 31st May so there is still time to submit your own calcium-rich recipe.