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1
Rinse/Wash hijiki in a bowl to remove sand.
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2
Soak the hijiki 10-15 minutes in enough water to cover.
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3
Drain the hijiki over a colander; sqeezing out the excess water.
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4
if strands are long, you might want to cut it (to about 1/2 inch, doesn't have to be exact).
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5
Soak the mushrooms in warm water till soft, then slice thin (keep the water).
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6
Saute the hijiki, aburage, carrots, mushrooms,edamane beans and konnyaku in sesame oil for a few minutes.
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7
Add soaking water and enough fresh water to almost cover.
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8
Add dashi and other seasonings.
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9
Simmer until the hijiki and vegetables are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed (about thirty-five minutes).
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10
Place in small serving bowl and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
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11
NOTE: There have been some warnings citing more than citing its more than accepted levels of inorganic arsenic.
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12
It should be noted that the initial tests on hijiki which lead to those warnings in the UK among other places was based on testing the dried, un-soaked hijiki - and you never eat hijiki that way.
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13
Soaking reduces the amount of trace arsenic by 1/7th; rinsing and cooking it in liquid further reduces it.
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14
The report here by the Tokyo Health and Welfare Department states that as long as a person weighing 50kg (about 110lb) does not eat more than 5 servings of hijiki of 5g dry weight per serving (which swells up to a lot more than that when soaked) that it is perfectly safe, even for pregnant women.
