Seaweed Steals the Show!

 Hijiki Chicken!

December 24, 2009 (ahh--all my posts are so far behind!)
My mom sets down her chopsticks and smiles, "I bet not many people are eating hijiki chicken on Christmas Eve."
"Well, not the typical holiday meal," I reply.  "But there must be one person out in the great wide world who is enjoying this same lovely seaweed!"

When I was at home for Christmas vacation, my mom handed me a stack of recipes saying, "What new recipe should we try for dinner?"  I chose hijiki chicken.  Now a new fav.

Let's Get This Show Rolling!...
2-3oz dried hijiki seaweed
5oz/150g chicken breast
2 carrots
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp dashi-no-moto
2 Tbsp sake
3 Tbsp soy sauce
pinch of shichimi togarashi or cayenne pepper

1. Soak hijiki in cold water for 30 minutes.  It is ready to cook when it is easily crushed between the fingers.  Pour into a sieve and wash under running water.  Drain.
2. Cut up chicken.  Heal oil in a frying pan and stir-fry the chicken until the color changes.
3. Peel carrots and cut into long narrow matchsticks.
4. Add the hijiki and carrot to the chicken.  Stir fry for one minute.
5. Add the remaining ingredients.  Lower heat and cook for 5 minutes.
6. Remove pan from heat and let stand for 10 minutes.  Sprinkle with shichimi togarashi or cayenne pepper when serving.

What is Hijiki?
Hijiki is seaweed.  Yup, seaweed!  Before Christmas Eve I had never tried this variety of seaweed, but I love it!  It gives the chicken a salty kick and pungent aftertaste.  It lends a strong flavor to the whole dish, complimenting rice perfectly.  Watch out- any competing flavor will probably lose.
Couldn't find nutrition information on the USDA nutrient database, or Fitday, or Calorie King, or anywhere!  It seems that most of the nutrient information combines hijiki with other salad ingredients, but this blog was informative: Hijiki-Just Hungry's Blog.
The All-Stars (aka My Seaweed Rollcall):
Wakame- in miso soup *slurp!*
Konbu-for soup stock and traditional Japanese New Years Dish called "Nishime"
Nori-to wrap sushi
Furikake- Japanese condiment to sprinkle over rice
Hijiki- newest addition, welcome!