Sargassum fusiforme
| Hijiki | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| (unranked): | SAR |
| Superphylum: | Heterokonta |
| Class: | Phaeophyceae |
| Order: | Fucales |
| Family: | Sargassaceae |
| Genus: | Sargassum |
| Species: | S. fusiforme |
| Binomial name | |
|
Sargassum fusiforme (Harv.) Setch., 1931 |
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Hijiki (ヒジキ, 鹿尾菜 or 羊栖菜 hijiki) (Sargassum fusiforme, syn. Hizikia fusiformis) is a brown sea vegetable growing wild on rocky coastlines around Japan, Korea, and China.
Hijiki has been a part of the Japanese diet for centuries. Hijiki is rich in dietary fibre and essential minerals such as calcium, iron, and magnesium. According to Japanese folklore, hijiki aids health and beauty, and thick, black, lustrous hair is connected to regular consumption of small amounts of hijiki. Hijiki has been sold in United Kingdom natural products stores for 30 years and hijiki's culinary uses have been adopted in North America.
Recent studies have shown that hijiki contains potentially toxic quantities of inorganic arsenic, and the food safety agencies of several countries (excluding Japan), including Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, have advised against its consumption.
In 1867 the word "hijiki" first appeared in an English-language publication: A Japanese and English Dictionary by James C. Hepburn.
Starting in the 1960s, the word "hijiki" started to be used widely in the United States, and the product (imported in dried form from Japan) became widely available at natural food stores and Asian-American grocery stores, due to the influence of the macrobiotic movement, and in the 1970s with the growing number of Japanese restaurants.
Hijiki is green to brown in colour when found in the wild. A fisherman and a professional diver harvest the hijiki with a sickle at the time of the low tide of the spring tide of May from March. After collection, the seaweed is boiled and dried to be sold in the form of dried hijiki. Dried processed hijiki turns black. To prepare dried hijiki for cooking, it is first soaked in water then cooked with ingredients like soy sauce and sugar to make a dish.
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Wikipedia