Spinach and Hijiki Goma-ae (Sesame Salad)
ほうれん草とひじきの胡麻和え · Horenso to Hijiki no Goma-ae
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Goma-ae is one of the most common side dishes in Japanese home cooking and school lunches: boiled vegetables tossed in a dressing of ground sesame, sugar and soy sauce. Here spinach, bean sprouts and carrot are joined by hijiki, a mild, tender sea vegetable that is a staple of kyushoku menus and takes on the flavor of soy sauce beautifully. The nutty, lightly sweet sesame dressing coats everything, and cutting the vegetables into short 2 cm pieces makes them easy for small mouths to manage. It is a gentle, colorful way to get greens and seaweed onto a child's plate.
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
- 27 gbean sprouts
- 12 gcarrot
- 18 gspinach
- 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.
Seasonings
- 0.9 gsoy sauce
- 3 gwhite sesame seeds
- 1.5 gsugar
- 1.8 gsoy sauce
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
Video is in Japanese and may show a different version of this dish (other ingredients or steps). Follow the ingredients and steps on this page, especially when cooking for allergies.
- 1
Cut the bean sprouts into 2 cm lengths, the carrot into short thin strips, and the spinach into 2 cm lengths. Boil each vegetable separately, then rinse under running water to cool.
- 2
Boil the hijiki until soft, then return it to the pot and cook, stirring, with the first measure of soy sauce until the liquid is absorbed.
- 3
Toast the white sesame seeds and grind them (pre-ground sesame seeds can be used instead).
- 4
Squeeze the excess water from the cooled vegetables, then toss them with the hijiki, the ground sesame, the sugar, and the remaining soy sauce.
Toasting and grinding the sesame seeds brings out a nutty aroma that makes the vegetables easier for children to eat. To save time, you can skip this and use pre-ground sesame instead.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 40.5 kcal | 81 kcal | 40.5 kcal |
| Protein | 2 g | 3.9 g | 2 g |
| Fat | 1.7 g | 3.3 g | 1.7 g |
| Carbohydrates | 5.6 g | 11.1 g | 5.6 g |
| Fiber | 2.4 g | 4.8 g | 2.4 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.6 g | 1.2 g | 0.6 g |
| Calcium | 69 mg | 138 mg | 69 mg |
| Iron | 0.8 mg | 1.5 mg | 0.8 mg |
| Potassium | 319.5 mg | 639 mg | 319.5 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 40.5 kcal | 2 g | 1.7 g | 5.6 g | 2.4 g | 0.6 g | 69 mg | 0.8 mg | 319.5 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 81 kcal | 3.9 g | 3.3 g | 11.1 g | 4.8 g | 1.2 g | 138 mg | 1.5 mg | 639 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.
