Hijiki:

Hijiki is a type of seaweed that is used most often as a side dish. After the seaweed has been harvested, it is dried and then cooked with soy sauce and sugar to create a delicious, slightly sweet snack. The small, thin strips of hijiki seaweed look like grass and match the kanji characters used to write it in Japanese as ¡°deer tail grass¡±. Hijiki is rich in minerals, such as iron, calcium and magnesium and is said in Japan to be a great way to keep hair thick and lustrous.

How it is used:

• Side Dish
Most commonly served as a side dish, hijiki is cooked in soy sauce and sugar to make a tasty food that can be eaten on the side, or served with rice. In Japan, you will often get a bowl of hijiki mixed with carrots and edamame beans as an appetiser in izakaya drinking bars.