Japanese · side

Hijiki no Nimono (Simmered Hijiki with Soybeans and Fried Tofu)

Name: Hijiki no Nimono (Simmered Hijiki with Soybeans and Fried Tofu)
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: dried hijiki — 30 g; cold water — 1000 g; abura-age — 150 g; water — 500 g; carrot — 80 g; soybeans — 100 g; sesame oil — 14 g; niban dashi — 300 g; sake — 15 g; mirin — 22 g; caster sugar — 13 g; soy sauce — 30 g

Hijiki no Nimono (Simmered Hijiki with Soybeans and Fried Tofu) reads umami 6.3, sweetness 5.7 and salinity 5.0 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Japanese side, about 1 hr 10 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 7.3 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 6.2 / 10
Sour & Bright — 0.9 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 2.1 / 10
Rich & Fat — 5.4 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 1.4 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 6.3 · Sweetness 5.7 · Salinity 5.0 · Nutty 4.2 · Richness 4.0 · Funk & Ferment 3.0 · Marine & Briny 2.1 · Earthy 2.0 · Fruity 1.4 · Floral 1.3 · Bitterness 1.1 · Herbaceous 1.0 · Sourness 0.8

What's in it (12)

dried hijiki — 30 g
cold water — 1000 g
abura-age — 150 g
water — 500 g
carrot — 80 g
soybeans — 100 g
sesame oil — 14 g
niban dashi — 300 g
sake — 15 g
mirin — 22 g
caster sugar — 13 g
soy sauce — 30 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 10 min (25 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 31.1 kcal, 1.8 g protein, 1.5 g fat, 2.8 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (6 steps)

Cover the hijiki with the cold water and leave it 20 to 30 minutes. It will swell to four or five times its dry volume, so use a bowl bigger than you think. Drain, rinse in two changes of water, and drain again; hijiki holds grit and dries salty.
Set the abura-age in a sieve and pour the boiling water over both sides, pressing gently with the back of a spoon. Old frying oil is the reason a badly made nimono tastes stale. Cut the sheet into 3 cm strips.
Warm the sesame oil in a pan over medium heat, add the drained hijiki and stir 2 minutes until it smells nutty and the strands separate. Add the carrot and abura-age and stir 1 minute more.
Pour in the dashi and sake, bring to a simmer and add the sugar and mirin. Simmer uncovered at a soft bubble for 8 minutes.
Add the soy sauce and the soybeans and continue at the same gentle simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring once or twice, until only a spoonful or two of glossy liquid is left in the bottom of the pan. Do not cook it dry: hijiki that has lost all its liquid goes leathery as it cools.
Let it stand off the heat for 15 minutes before serving at room temperature. It keeps 4 days refrigerated and is the classic bento filler, packed cold in the corner beside the rice.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Chikuzenni (Simmered Chicken and Root Vegetables) — Japanese
Kiriboshi Daikon no Nimono (Simmered Dried Daikon Strips) — Japanese
Kinpira Gobo (Braised Burdock and Carrot with Sesame) — Japanese
Spring Rolls (春卷) — Chinese
Yaksik (Sweet Steamed Glutinous Rice with Jujube and Chestnut) — Korean

Keep reading: what umami, sweetness, salinity mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.