Dried Hijiki Seaweed Mayonnaise Salad

Dried Hijiki Seaweed Mayonnaise Salad（ひじきマヨサラダ）

What kind of dish is Dried Hijiki Seaweed Mayonnaise Salad??

This “Dried Hijiki Mayonnaise Salad” is a unique Japanese-Western fusion salad that boldly combines hijiki, a traditional Japanese ingredient, with beloved mayonnaise.

Root vegetables such as dried hijiki, carrots, and lotus root are slowly simmered in soy sauce and sugar for a sweet and spicy flavor. The stew is then cooled and tossed with chopped ham and mayonnaise.

The deep umami of the simmered ingredients and the richness of the mayonnaise are exquisitely blended to create a novel salad that can be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

Hijiki is a superfood that is surprisingly packed with nutrients, despite its appearance.

Despite being low in calories, it is rich in minerals such as calcium, iron, and magnesium.

Its distinctive “crunchy” texture is due to its high dietary fiber.

While hijiki has a subtle sea scent, it doesn’t have a strong flavor of its own, so it absorbs the flavors of seasonings like soy sauce, sugar, and mirin well.

Preparation and Cooking Tips to Bring Out the Flavor

Here are some important points to keep in mind for safely and deliciously cooking dried hijiki.

1. Reduce Arsenic Risk Through Preparation
   While hijiki is rich in minerals, it has been reported to contain higher levels of inorganic arsenic, a concern in some countries, than other foods. However, no adverse health effects have been reported at levels commonly consumed in the Japanese diet.

To further reduce your arsenic intake, the best way to prepare it is to follow the steps below.

Soaking (recommended): Soak dried hijiki in 40 times its weight in water (optimally 20°C) for 30 minutes. This removes approximately 60% of the water-soluble inorganic arsenic.

Rinsing: To remove the unpleasant sea odor, thoroughly rinse the soaked hijiki several times and drain thoroughly.

Trivia: It’s said that boiling in hot water can remove about 80% of arsenic.

2. The secret to delicious simmering
   If hijiki is undercooked, it will become hard and have an excessively strong fishy smell.

Simmer until tender: Before adding soy sauce or other seasonings, simmering the hijiki thoroughly until it’s soft is the key to eliminating the fishy smell and making it delicious.

Concentrate the umami: Even after adding the seasonings, continue simmering the pot slowly until most of the water has evaporated. This allows the flavors to fully infuse the hijiki, resulting in a rich, deep flavor.

Try these prep and cooking methods and enjoy this safe, delicious, and nutritious “Dried Hijiki Mayonnaise Salad”!

NUTRITION FACTS : Dried Hijiki Seaweed Mayonnaise Salad

• 657 Calories Protein 24.6 g Total Fat 30.0 g Total Carbohydrates 77.6 g Sodium 9.5 g

INGRETIENTS : Dried Hijiki Seaweed Mayonnaise Salad (8SERVINGS)

Dried shiitake mushrooms should be soaked in water the day before. If you don’t have time, soak it in hot water for about an hour.

• Dried hijiki (Use 100g for nama hijiki) 13g
  • Water 500g
• Carrots 30g
• Lotus root 200g
• Fried tofu 10g
• Dried shiitake mushrooms 5g
  • Water 300g
• Sesame oil 4g
  • ☆Dried shiitake mushroom reconstituted juice and water 300g
  • ☆Dark soy sauce 15g
  • ☆Light soy sauce 15g
  • ☆Sugar 10g
  • ☆Mirin 10g
  • ☆Sake 10g
  • ☆Dashi stock granules 2g
• Boiled soybeans 50g
• Ham 48g
• Green beans 15g
  • ★Half calorie mayonnaise 50g
  • ★Ground sesame 5g

How to make Dried Hijiki Seaweed Mayonnaise Salad

1. Reconstitute the dried hijiki with water. Dried hijiki soaking time is about 5 minutes and drain water.　When reconstituted with water, it expands to about 7 times its original size. In the case of nama hijiki, there is no need to soak it in water, so just rinse it twice before using.
2. Cut the carrot and fried tofu into strips.
3. Slice the lotus root into 2 mm pieces.Then cut it into a cross.
4. Cut dried shiitake mushrooms rehydrated into thin strips.
5. Stir-fry hijiki, carrots, lotus roots and shiitake mushrooms in sesame oil.
6. Add the reconstituted juice of dried shiitake mushrooms
7. When the hijiki becomes soft, add the dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, sugar, mirin, sake, and dashi stock granules.
8. Add washed soybeans and fried tofu when the water is gone, stop the fire and let it cool.
9. Cut the ham.
10. Boil the green beans for 2 minutes and cut into small pieces.
11. Mix simmered hijiki, ham, green beans, mayonnaise, and ground sesame seeds.

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