Hijiki Rice
Why I Love This Recipe
I learned to make this rice from my good friend Mitsuyo, who is a lovely acupuncturist from Japan (educated here) and made this exquisite and simple rice for me when I was sick. It is very good for you: hijiki has more calcium than milk, as do sesame seeds. And it tastes divine. Pair with any meat or tofu and veggies and you have a great meal.
Ingredients You'll Need
1 cup brown basmati rice (brown rice is good too, if you use white rice reduce cooking time appropriately)
1/4 dried hijiki (find in most Asian stores in the dried seaweed section)
2 tblspoons unulled sesame seeds
sesame oil to taste
1/4 tsp. salt and 3c. water or konbu dashi (prepare by soaking konbu, another dried seaweed, in 3 c. water for 1-2 hours).
Directions
Bring dashi (or water) and salt to a boil. Add rice, reduce heat to simmer for 40-50min. Meanwhile, add 1 cup boiling water to hijiki and cover. Let stand while rice cooks.
When rice is cooked, take hijiki out of soaking water and rinse, gently squeeze out excess water (you may want to cut it up into smaller pieces if you like). Add hijiki, sesame seeds, and 1-2 tblsp. sesame oil (or olive oil for a milder taste) to rice and mix. You may need to add more salt if necessary.
The hijiki causes the rice to become a bit 'sticky' like that you find in sushi places. It feels very 'gourmet' and tastes it. Enjoy!
