Welcome Back!

We meet again, MoFos. We're back with a new week and a new theme: Sea Life. Five days, five dishes, five sea plants for us to get to know a little better.

Today's plant: Hijiki
Used in: Hijiki Chickpea Salad Sandwich from Vegan with a Vengeance

According to Wikipedia (I know, I know), hijiki is is a brown sea vegetable grown wild on rocky coastlines around Japan, Korea and China. It's known to be rich in dietary fiber, calcium, iron and magnesium. Some say hijiki aids health and beauty.

This sandwich reminds me of the ones my grandparents made when I was a wee sproglet. I never liked fish, even tuna, but when my grandparents made it, they added magic so it was delicious. Maybe it was because they toasted the bread. Or because they added crunchy bits (to this day, I don't know if it was celery or onion. It would be funny if it was onion because I also hated that). All I know is that it was awesome and this took me right back there.

Mashed chickpeas mixed with vegenaise feels very much like tuna (but not enough to be gross), while the hijiki brings the fishiness. Add carrots, onions and a bunch of sandwich vegetables and you've got the best simple sandwich in the world. It doesn't really taste all that much like tuna, but the sandwich has that same after school feeling anyway.

Coincidentally, I came across this piece about sustainable and ethical tuna fishing today. Obviously, my personal opinion is that the most sustainable thing to do with tuna is leave it in the sea, but if you MUST buy it, make sure it's not caught in a purse seine. That shit's fucked up. For more about the bluefin tuna situation: clickity.