I wanted an Asian noodle dish but I wanted something new. Wasn’t interested in a curry or a peanut sauce…I wanted variety…ingredients that I hadn’t worked with before. I was seeking a dish that was savory and light with a good amount of vegetables- nothing greasy or heavy. This is what I came up with. Ive never worked with hijiki but I have seen it used in noodle dishes in the past so I went for it. Its one of those random Japanese ingredients amongst the wall of dried bagged seaweed and sushi fixins that I’m consistently stupefied by at the co op. I stop and stare curiously for just a moment and contemplate what the hell to do with these ingredients before moving along puzzled. It was a bit intimidating at first…the Hijiki resembled small dehydrated black worms…the kind you find on hot sidewalks in the summer. I trusted they would taste better than they looked. They did. After cooking they soften and really add a nice flavor to the noodles blending in so well with the texture of the dish that they are almost undetectable apart from their dark color.  Don’t be intimidated…I was and ended up feeling like an ass after the fact- it was so simple! The slicing and dicing prep work is the only thing that will take up any real time with this recipe…the rest is quick…its a stir fry after all.

Ingredients (serves 2)

Directions

1. Put the hijiki in a small saucepan and add enough water to cover it. Let it soak for 30 min. Drain it and return it to the pan with 2 Tbsp tamari, 1 Tbsp agave nectar and enough water to cover it. Simmer the saucepan over low heat for 20 minutes until the hijiki is soft. Turn off the heat and set aside.
2. Next, cook your noodles according to their instructions. Rinse them under cold water when through cooking, drain and set them aside.
3. In a large Nonstick skillet (or a wok if you’d rather) add the peanut oil, when it gets hot add the whites of the onions, garlic and ginger- stir fry for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and the carrots next- stir fry 2 more minutes. Add both types of cabbage- stir fry 2 minutes.  Then add the remaining tamari & the rice wine vinegar. Cover the pan and let this cook for a couple minutes. Next throw in the hijiki and its liquid, the noodles, gomasio, cilantro, onion greens, sesame and chili oil and toss to combine the veggies, noodles and oils really well. Cook it for a couple more minutes and garnish it with some fried tofu, cilantro, fresh lime squeeze and an additional sprinkle of gomasio to make it pretty. Enjoy.