Hijiki and Shirasu Salad
ひじきのしらすサラダ · Hijiki no Shirasu Salad
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Hijiki is a dark, fine-stranded seaweed that Japanese home cooks usually simmer, but here it goes into a fresh salad with finely shredded cabbage, cucumber and carrot, plus tiny shirasu for a gentle savory note. Everything is cut short and fine so it is easy for small mouths to manage, and the dressing is briefly heated to soften the sharpness of the vinegar, which is what makes it so easy for children to eat. It is a light, colorful side that quietly adds seaweed and small fish to a lunch tray.
Wheat-free, but uses soy sauce (made with wheat). Japanese school-lunch allergy menus usually allow it, so check with your doctor. How to read the labels
Added. Open the recipe helper (bottom right) → ☰ Menu → 🛒 Shopping list to see the ingredients for your family size.
Printing uses the number of adults and children set under Ingredients, so set those first.
Ingredients
Amounts for 1 child (1 serving). An adult counts as 2 servings.
One serving here is 1.5× the portion served to a child in a Japanese preschool, sized for Western appetites. An adult counts as two servings. Tap an ingredient to check it off.
Ingredients
- 1.8 gdried hijiki seaweedShort, black strands of dried seaweed with a mild, earthy flavor that are soaked before simmering. Substitute: Dried wakame or arame.
- 15.9 gcabbage
- 13.8 gcucumber
- 14 gcarrot
- 3 gshirasu (dried baby sardines)Tiny, lightly salted and dried whole baby sardines that add gentle saltiness and calcium. Substitute: A small amount of flaked canned sardines, or omit.
Seasonings
- 1.4 gvinegar
- 2.1 gsoy sauce
- 0.8 gsugar
- 0.3 gvegetable oil
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- dried hijiki seaweed (干しひじき)
- Short, black strands of dried seaweed with a mild, earthy flavor that are soaked before simmering. Substitute: Dried wakame or arame.
- shirasu (dried baby sardines) (しらす干し)
- Tiny, lightly salted and dried whole baby sardines that add gentle saltiness and calcium. Substitute: A small amount of flaked canned sardines, or omit.
Directions
- 1
Cut the cabbage, cucumber and carrot into short, fine strips.
- 2
Boil the vegetables from step 1, the hijiki and the shirasu separately, then rinse each under running water to cool.
- 3
Combine all the dressing ingredients and heat them to cook off the sharpness of the vinegar.
- 4
Squeeze the ingredients from step 2 to drain off the water, then toss with the dressing from step 3.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 22.5 kcal | 45 kcal | 22.5 kcal |
| Protein | 1.5 g | 3 g | 1.5 g |
| Fat | 0.3 g | 0.6 g | 0.3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 4.7 g | 9.3 g | 4.7 g |
| Fiber | 1.8 g | 3.6 g | 1.8 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.6 g | 1.2 g | 0.6 g |
| Calcium | 40.5 mg | 81 mg | 40.5 mg |
| Iron | 0.2 mg | 0.3 mg | 0.2 mg |
| Potassium | 226.5 mg | 453 mg | 226.5 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 22.5 kcal | 1.5 g | 0.3 g | 4.7 g | 1.8 g | 0.6 g | 40.5 mg | 0.2 mg | 226.5 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 45 kcal | 3 g | 0.6 g | 9.3 g | 3.6 g | 1.2 g | 81 mg | 0.3 mg | 453 mg |
Values are per serving (1.5× the Japanese preschool portion); an adult serving is double. They were calculated by a licensed Japanese nutritionist using the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan. "Salt equivalent" is sodium × 2.54, the standard Japanese measure. Allergen flags cover egg, milk and wheat only and come from the nutritionist's records. Soy sauce and miso are made with wheat but are usually allowed on Japanese wheat-free school menus, so check with your doctor.
