Hijiki with Shiitakes and Beans

Name: Hijiki with Shiitakes and Beans
Yield: makes 4 servings
Ingredients: About 1 1/2 ounces hijiki (about 1 cup); 5 large or 10 small dried shiitake (“black”) mushrooms; 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 1 cup diced chicken, shrimp, or shucked small clams (canned are fine if you can find good ones), optional; 2 medium or 1 large carrot, shredded; 1 cup cooked soybeans, flageolets, peas, or black-eyed peas; 1 cup Dashi or chicken stock, preferably homemade (page 162 or 160); 2 tablespoons mirin or 1 tablespoon honey; 1/4 cup soy sauce, or to taste; Salt if necessary

December 14, 2011

A splendid seaweed-based dish that can be made completely from the pantry (to be sure, a well-stocked pantry, and one that will require a little forethought). Hijiki is the seaweed of choice, a common curly black variety that looks as beautiful as black pasta once it’s been soaked; you can buy it at any health food store or, of course, a Japanese market. (Buy some mirin, the sweet Japanese cooking wine, while you’re there; it keeps forever and adds a distinctive flavor to many Japanese dishes.)

Recipe notes

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

A crisp cookie base, a silky dark chocolate filling, and a glossy ganache top make this the ultimate chocolate cheesecake.

Butternut Squash–Kale Salad With Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

Round out these autumn greens with tart pomegranate seeds, crunchy pepitas, and a shower of Parmesan.

Crispy Salmon With Avocado Sauce

You’ll want to put this creamy (but dairy-free) green sauce on everything and it’s particularly sublime under crispy-skinned salmon.

Vodka Gochujang Pasta

This pasta has some really big energy about it. It’s so extra, it’s the type of thing you should be eating in your bikini while drinking a magnum of rosé, not in Hebden Bridge (or wherever you live), but on a beach on Mykonos.

Béchamel Sauce

This classic 15-minute sauce is your secret weapon for homemade mac and cheese, chowder, lasagna, and more.

Crispy Oyster Mushroom Skewers With Bok Choy Salad

Oyster mushrooms are a strong all-rounder in the kitchen, seeming to straddle both plant and meat worlds in what they look and taste like when cooked. Here they’re coated in a marinade my mother used to use when cooking Chinese food at home—honey, soy, garlic and ginger—and roasted until golden, crisp, and juicy.

Our Favorite French Onion Soup

Caramelized onions, melty Gruyère, and a deeply savory broth deliver the kind of comfort that doesn’t need improving.

Eggplant Roasted in Satay Sauce

Among the top tier of sauces is Indonesian satay sauce, because it is the embodiment of joy and life. In fact, this sauce is also trustworthy and highly respectful of whatever it comes into contact with—perhaps it is, in fact, the perfect friend?