Hijiki Fried Rice
ひじき炒飯 · Hijiki Chahan
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
This is fried rice the way it's made in a preschool kitchen: the rice is cooked with a little of the seasoning, and the carrot, hijiki and shirasu are sautéed separately and folded in at the end, so everything stays fluffy without a huge wok. Hijiki is a dark, fine-stranded seaweed sold dried in Japan, and it's a school-lunch favorite for its gentle sea flavor and the iron and calcium it brings. Mixed into rice this way, even children who push hijiki to the side of a side dish happily eat it up.
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
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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
- 60 griceJapanese short-grain white rice (japonica), which cooks up soft and slightly sticky. The amount listed is for uncooked rice. Substitute: Sushi rice, or another short-grain or medium-grain rice such as Calrose.
- 0.9 gdried hijiki seaweedShort, black strands of dried seaweed with a mild, earthy flavor that are soaked before simmering. Substitute: Dried wakame or arame.
- 5.3 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.
- 9 gcarrot
Seasonings
- 1.5 gvegetable oil
- 0.3 gsalt
- 1.2 gsoy sauce
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- rice (米)
- Japanese short-grain white rice (japonica), which cooks up soft and slightly sticky. The amount listed is for uncooked rice. Substitute: Sushi rice, or another short-grain or medium-grain rice such as Calrose.
- 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
Soak the rice in water for at least 30 minutes. Add one-third of the seasonings and cook the rice.
- 2
Finely mince the carrot, and soak the hijiki in water to rehydrate it. Briefly blanch the shirasu in boiling water.
- 3
Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the carrot and hijiki thoroughly.
- 4
Add the remaining seasonings and the shirasu, stir-fry briefly, then mix everything into the cooked rice from step 1.
The salt in the seasonings keeps the rice from absorbing water, so always soak the rice first and stir the seasonings in just before you start cooking it.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 231 kcal | 462 kcal | 231 kcal |
| Protein | 5.3 g | 10.5 g | 5.3 g |
| Fat | 2.3 g | 4.5 g | 2.3 g |
| Carbohydrates | 48.2 g | 96.3 g | 48.2 g |
| Fiber | 1 g | 2.1 g | 1 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.6 g | 1.2 g | 0.6 g |
| Calcium | 30 mg | 60 mg | 30 mg |
| Iron | 0.5 mg | 0.9 mg | 0.5 mg |
| Potassium | 151.5 mg | 303 mg | 151.5 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 231 kcal | 5.3 g | 2.3 g | 48.2 g | 1 g | 0.6 g | 30 mg | 0.5 mg | 151.5 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 462 kcal | 10.5 g | 4.5 g | 96.3 g | 2.1 g | 1.2 g | 60 mg | 0.9 mg | 303 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.
