Fresh broccoli and radish mixed with Hijiki, a mineral rich seaweed turned into world healthiest salad!
Drizzled with mustard dressing made with Shio-koji, natural fermented seasoning from Japan. This salad with magical seasoning of Shio-koji, mineral and fiber rich Hijiki and detox friendly broccoli is what your body loves!!
My father has a big vegetable garden in Komoro, Nagano prefecture which is about 3 hour drive from Tokyo.
My parents built a traditional style Japanese house as their second house and he has been growin organic vegetables there.
And yes, it is 3 hour drive from their house. He works full time during the week as a family doctor and he drives there to take care of his vegetables after finishing his work on Saturday noon.
The land was not in a good condition at first and took him several years to able to even grow decent vegetables.
So, to me, these vegetables are very special not only because they are ‘organic’ but also are taken care with such an effort and love because I feel the positive energy put into his vegetables when I eat them.
A week ago I got a lovely surprise package with fresh vegetables that my dad had just picked from the garden. You can imagine how exciting it was!
My mind just went “What do I make now? I need to make the most of their freshness! ”
And this salad is the one that came into my mind.
Broccoli and radish salad with Shi-koji dressing!
Shio- koji is a Japanese fermented seasoning made from rice koji ( basically a mold). I would call it as a “magical seasoning” because not only it works as versatile seasoning that gives food tenderness, rich aroma and taste, but also has many health benefits due to its enzyme activity from fermentation process.
I have been trying and discovering the potential of Shio-koji and I am loving it!
Like I said, it makes the meat and fish tender, adds the flavor that is somewhat ‘missing’ in the dish and helps draw the richness out of the food. Why had not I used it earlier?!
Really, this is a ‘magical’ seasoning. And you have to try it to see what I am talking about.
Shio-koji can just be used as a substitution for salt and works great for cooked food but also it works well in “raw” food like this Broccoli and radish salad with shio-koji dressing.
In this dressing it works to give more mildness compared to just using salt.
Shio-koji is probiotic and contains fiber, minerals and vitamins as well as many enzymes and because this dressing is technically “raw” these compounds will remain active.
The enzymes in Shio-koji will help you digest and absorb nutrients more efficiently.
I understand if you live outside Japan Shio-koji may not be the easiest thing to find but I would say it is worth the effort to try it.
Your local Japanese store may have it or you can buy Shio-koji through Amazon.
And the broccoli.
I would call it “super food” because it contains nutrients and compounds that have been shown to have many health benefits.
Broccoli is packed with nutrients especially Vitamin C, Vitamin K, and naturally high in fiber. It is also high in antioxidants and compounds that support your detox system, immune system, and help fight with cancer.
Next, Hijiki.
Same as Kombu or Nori, hijiki is one type of seaweed hijiki and is used in Japanese traditional cooking.
It is a great source for water soluble fiber, packed with minerals especially Magnesium, Iron and Iodine and contains Vitamin B2 that support your metabolism.
Traditionally hijiki is cooked with soy sauce and sake together with vegetables and often with soy beans.
But you can serve as a salad and I would love to introduce it in my unique style of this Broccoli radish salad.
Hijiki is usually sold dry and you need to soak it in a plentiful of water for 30 minutes or longer. (be careful with how much you are going to soak as it will become 8 times larger in weight after being soaked!)
I recommend you to boil drained hijiki with water for 5 minuts and then wash before using for cooking.
With this proper preparation, the arsenic which some of you may worry about, will be discarded while maintaining nutritional vaule of Hijiki.Japanese people have been eating it for centuries without any reports in regards to ‘side effect’ of eating Hijiki .
ANY food, ‘healthy’ food like nuts, seeds or even water, has some downside if you eat “too much”. It is about how you prepare it and the amount that you eat that food, right?
Here is how to prepards Hijiki;
- In a bowl soak dried Hijiki in plentiful water for 30 minutes or more.
- Drain, and wash the Hijiki with fresh water.
- Place the Hijiki and pour water into a pot, bring the water boil and boil hijiki for 5 minutes.
- Drain, and washe the Hijiki with fresh water. And it is ready to use!
You can freeze the leftover in separate packs for later use.
Lightly blanched broccoli, sliced colorful radish together with red onion, mineral rich Hijiki, and walnuts for crunchiness, fishing with Shio-koji mustard dressing.
This colorful broccoli salad loaded with nutrients with extra benefits of Shio-koji is perfect dish for potluck, as a side salad or lunch box!!
Broccoli and radish salad with Shio-koji mustard dressing
Drizzled with mustard dressing made with Shio-koji, natural fermented seasoning from Japan. This salad with magical seasoning of Shio-koji, mineral and fiber rich Hijiki and detox friendly broccoli is what your body loves!!
Ingredients
- 10g g dried Hijiki - this will make about 70g of prepared hijiki
- 1/2 head broccoli - about 200g, chopped into bite sizes
- 8-10 radish - sliced
- 1/6 red onion - chopped
- 3 heaping tbsp roasted walnut - chopped
Shio-koji mjstard dressing
- 2 tbsp Shio-koji - see the recipe note below
- 2 tbsp olive oil - extra virgin
- 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp whole grain mustard
Instructions
First, prepare HIjiki
- In a bowl palce dried hijiki and plentiful of water. Leave and let it soak at least for 30 minuts.
- Using a strainer, drain the water and wash Hijiki with fresh water.
- Place HIjiki in a pot with water, and bring it to boil. Boil it for 5mintes.
- Drain, and wash hijiki with fresh water using strainer. And you are ready to use Hijiki! Keep 1/3 cup of prepared Hijiki for this recipe and freeze the rest for later use. (It would be a good idea to separate them in smaller batches for convenience)
Dressing;
- Mix all ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl. Set aside.
Make salad;
- Bring hal-full pan of water for broccoli. Prepare the vegetables as instructed in the ingredient list while water is coming to boil. ( you can also steam broccoli instead)
- Put chopped broccoli into boiling water, steam/boil until broccoli turns to brighter color for about 50 -60 seconds. Drain and cool the broccoli in cold water.
- In a large bowl, add the broccoli, sliced radish, 1/3 cup of prepared HIjiki, chopped onions and walnuts. Pour over the shio-koji mustard dressing and mix to combine. Place in the fridge to let the flavors come together or eat right away.
Notes
- Steaming broccoli help reduce the amount of anti-nutrient in it maximizing the absorption of minerals in itself or other foods.
- Shio-koji can be found in your local Japanese grocery stores or on Amazon.
Disclaimer: This blog post may contain affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost for you)
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