Hijiki Namul
ひじきのナムル · Hijiki no Namuru
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Namul is a Korean-style side dish of boiled vegetables tossed in a sesame-oil dressing, and it has become a regular on Japanese school lunch menus. This version pairs hijiki seaweed with carrot, cucumber and bean sprouts, all cut short so they are easy for small mouths to manage. The hijiki is seasoned lightly with soy sauce before it goes into the salad, so its flavor blends in with the crisp vegetables instead of standing apart. Gently heating the dressing softens the sharpness of the vinegar, which makes it much friendlier to young children.
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
- 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.
- 9 gcarrot
- 15 gcucumber
- 27 gbean sprouts
Seasonings
- 0.2 gsoy sauce
- 1.5 gvinegar
- 1 gsugar
- 1.5 gsoy sauce
- 1.8 gsesame 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.
Directions
- 1
Boil the hijiki and drain it in a colander. Return it to the pot and stir-fry it with the soy sauce to season it. Once the moisture has cooked off, let it cool slightly.
- 2
Cut the carrot and cucumber into short, thin matchsticks and cut the bean sprouts into 2 cm lengths, then boil each separately. Rinse 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 vegetables from step 2 to remove excess water, then toss them with the hijiki from step 1 and the dressing from step 3.
Seasoning the hijiki ahead of time helps the flavors blend together nicely.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 34.5 kcal | 69 kcal | 34.5 kcal |
| Protein | 0.9 g | 1.8 g | 0.9 g |
| Fat | 1.8 g | 3.6 g | 1.8 g |
| Carbohydrates | 4.2 g | 8.4 g | 4.2 g |
| Fiber | 1.7 g | 3.3 g | 1.7 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.3 g | 0.6 g | 0.3 g |
| Calcium | 28.5 mg | 57 mg | 28.5 mg |
| Iron | 0.2 mg | 0.3 mg | 0.2 mg |
| Potassium | 199.5 mg | 399 mg | 199.5 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 34.5 kcal | 0.9 g | 1.8 g | 4.2 g | 1.7 g | 0.3 g | 28.5 mg | 0.2 mg | 199.5 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 69 kcal | 1.8 g | 3.6 g | 8.4 g | 3.3 g | 0.6 g | 57 mg | 0.3 mg | 399 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.
