seaweed and soybean salad
(vegan)

recipe by mb

just the recipe

what I was looking for

A simple salad that would make a good accompaniment to fish.

what I made

The Hijiki and Edamame Salad from Heidi Swansons Super Natural Cooking (page 138-139), except with wakame instead of hijiki.

grades for my version

healthy	A	This is about as healthy as you can possibly get. Vegetables, seaweed, soy. Ain't nuthin' better for ya.
fast	B	Cutting the carrots into tiny little matchstick pieces takes a while, but the method that Heidi suggests is not so bad.
easy	A	Oh so amazingly easy.
cheap	B	Buying a big bag of seaweed to only use 2 Tablespoons of it is pretty extravagant. You really have to have faith that you're going to like it so well that you'll want to make it again.
delicious	B	Good, but not something I feel the need to eat on a regular basis.

yield

Serves 6 as a side dish. I, of course, didn't scale this recipe back at all, so I ended up with a mountain of leftovers. Much too much.

equipment

   vegetable peeler

   colander

   whisk

the salad

ingredients	Heidi	mb	why?
dried seaweed	2 ½ Tablespoons hijiki	2 ½ Tablespoons wakame	easier [1]
frozen edamame (soybeans)	1 pound	10 ounces	easier [2]
daikon	½ radish, cut into matchsticks	---	easier [3]
carrot	1, cut into matchsticks	2, cut into matchsticks	easier [3] again
canned soybeans	1 15-oz. can	1 15-oz. can	no change
Notes
[1]	The only kind of dried seaweed I could find at my local health food store was wakame, so that's what I got. What could be easier?
[2]	The frozen edamame at said store comes in 10 oz. packages, so I went for one (too little) instead of two (too much).
[3]	Look, I couldn't find any daikon radish, either! What do you want from me? So instead of searching it out, I just upped the amount of carrot.

Rehydrate the seaweed in a large bowl of hot water for about 20 minutes. Really, I mean it, a large bowl. It looks silly when you start, but the seaweed will triple in size, so make sure the bowl is big enough.

After the 20 minutes are up, dump out the water and squeeze out any excess.

   Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then add the frozen edamame. Cook them for 3 minutes, then drain and rinse them under cold water until they're no longer hot at all.

   To make the carrot matchsticks (and daikon, if youre lucky enough to find it), use a vegetable peeler to make long strips, then cut the strips into thin matchstick-size pieces.

Drain and rinse the canned soybeans and put them in a large bowl. To the bowl then add the edamame, tiny carrot sticks, and the seaweed and stir it all together.

the dressing

ingredients	Heidi	mb	why?
brown rice vinegar	¼ cup	¼ cup	no change
miso paste	1 ½ Tablespoons light miso	1 ½ Tablespoons dark red miso	healthier [1]
garlic	1 small clove	2 large cloves	healthier, tastier
honey	1 Tablespoon	2 teaspoons	healthier, tastier
olive oil	½ cup	⅓ cup	healthier
salt	to taste	to taste	no change
Notes
[1]	The darker, richer colors of miso are better for you then the lighter ones.

   In a small bowl, whisk the rice vinegar, miso, garlic, honey, and olive oil until the dressing is thick and creamy, then salt it to taste.

Dress the seaweed and edamame mixture and toss it until everything is lightly coated -- try not to drown it.

the base

ingredients	Heidi	mb	why?
leafy greens	4 handfuls	2 handfuls	cheaper [1]
	baby spinach, watercress, or arugula	baby lettuce	tastier [2]
Notes
[1]	I decided to let each person decide how much greenery they wanted for the base of their own salad. That way the leafy greens wouldn't be sitting in the dressing all night getting wilted, and there would be tastier leftovers the next day. It ended up being about a handful each.
[2]	Although all the other mentioned leafy greens are very tasty, I'm partial to the delicate sweetness of baby lettuce.

Let each person place a bed of leafy greens on their plate and top with a generous spoonful of the seaweed and edamame salad.

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