Lotus root and Kabocha salad with seasoned Hijiki

Healthy and easy Japanese-style side dish for autumn! A hearty salad with roasted lotus root and pumpkin, and tossed with seasoned hijiki seaweed.

Lotus root(renkon in Japanese) doesn't have much taste but the texture is nice and crispy. On the other hand, Japanese pumpkin called kabocha is sweet and starchy. Hijiki is a little chewy and has earthy flavor.

Put them all together, then it becomes tasty, flavorful and you would satisfy for sure.

I like the color scheme. Each ingredients has different colors, so when all together, it looks colorful and cheerful. And they are so nutritious.

Recommend this recipe for
• Someone who wants to make Japanese style salad
• Someone who wants to try Japanese lotus root/kabocha/hijiki recipe
• Someone who wants to make easy and healthy side dish

Also kabocha is sweet, and hijiki is seasoned with a bit of sugar, so kids are happy to eat it!

Let me walk you through the ingredients and how to make it with step by step instructions. Let's get started!

Jump to:

• About this recipe
• 📋 Ingredients
• 🔪Instructions
• Variations of seasoning
• Thanks for Sopping By
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

About this recipe

• Use Japanese ingredients, lotus root, kabocha and hijiki seaweed
• Vegan, easy, and nutritious salad
• Cooking time : 12 minutes

📋 Ingredients

Here are the ingredients (amounts are in the recipe card below).

• Vegetables >> Lotus root and kabocha squash(pumpkin)
• Dried hijiki seaweed
• Seasoning >> Soy sauce and sugar

Lotus root: When you buy lotus root (renkon), choose one that is heavy, thick, plump and the skin is glossy, and no scratches. If you can see the cut section, make sure that the color has not changed to brown or that the holes are not dark.

Kabocha: It's a Japanese pumpkin. When you buy cut kabocha(not a whole one), choose one that is filled with seeds tightly, and has fresh vivid color. If you want to buy a whole kabocha, you can find more details here: Kabocha muffins

Hijiki seaweed: It's nutritious, and pretty common seaweed in Japan. We use dry hijiki so it needs to be soaked in water before using it. About hijiki seaweed, see more details here: Hijiki seaweed salad(Japanese classic side dish)

🔪Instructions

Let me show you how to make the salad. First of all, preheat an oven to 230 C. Please watch this video, "how to make the salad" as well.

1. Hijki: Soak dried hijiki in water for 10 minutes and drain
2. Kabocha: Cut it into thin slices
3. Lotus root: Peel the skin, and cut it into thin slices
4. Roast: Place the slices on a baking try, and roast them for 7 minutes in the oven
5. Cook hijiki: Add oil to a frying pan, then hijiki, soy sauce, sugar, and stir fry until the sugar is dissolved
6. Toss: Add roasted vegetables and cooked hijiki in a bowl, and toss

Flavorful and delicious Japanese salad is ready to serve!

Transfer to a container and keep it in the fridge. It will last for 3 days.

The taste will be even better the next day as the vegetables get to absorb the seasoning. Yummy!

Variations of seasoning

In this recipe, we season hijiki with sugar and soy sauce, but you can change the seasoning and have more variations. Here are some ideas!

• Mayonnaise and soy sauce
• Miso, honey and soy milk(or any milk you like)
• Mentsuyu(noodle soup base)

Thanks for Sopping By

It's easy to make, simple but nutritious salad, and great for lunch(or obento: lunch box), dinner, or snack between meals.

You might not familiar with these ingredients, but it's nothing difficult to deal with so I hope you will try making and enjoy it with your family.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog♡ If you’ve tried this recipe(or any other recipe on the blog), please give it a star rating below!

Also, feel free to leave comments if you have any questions. I love hearing from you!

Chef JA Cooks is a Japanese food blog that shares simple and healthy Japanese home cooking recipes include vegan and vegetarian. From traditional Japanese recipes to modern recipes with step-by-step instructions.

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📖 Recipe