Gobo and Hijiki with Brown Rice
Ingredients
2 tablespoons hijiki seaweed
100 g/3 1/2 oz burdock root (gobo)
100 g/3 1/2 oz carrot
1 tablespoon oriental sesame oil
1 cup brown rice
2 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce or tamari
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Directions
Soak the hijiki in warm water to cover. It will expand to many times its original size. Peel burdock and cut into small pieces, and to prevent discolouring soak in water. Peel carrot and cut into matchstick strips. In a heavy saucepan heat the oil and toss the carrot and drained burdock for a minute, then add the rice, soy sauce and 2 cups hot water. Bring to the boil, cover tightly and allow to steam for 35 minutes. Add drained hijiki and continue cooking for a further 10 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Fork the hijiki through the rice and serve sprinkled with sesame seeds.
Recipe excerpted from Encyclopedia of Asian Food by Charmaine Solomon (Periplus Editions, 1998)