• Gather all the ingredients.
  
• Soak ½ cup dried hijiki seaweed in 4 cups water—10 minutes for mehijiki (bud hijiki) or 30 minutes for nagahijiki (stem hijiki). Meanwhile, prepare the other ingredients.
  
• Drain to a large fine-mesh sieve and rinse under running water.
  

To Prepare the Other Ingredients

• Boil water in a small saucepan and pour it over 2 aburaage (deep-fried tofu pouch). This will remove the excess oil on the aburaage. Squeeze out the liquid. Then, cut in half lengthwise and thinly slice crosswise.
  
• Add some water and 3 oz konnyaku (konjac) to a small pot and boil for 3 minutes to remove the odor. This also helps the konnyaku absorb flavors and improves the texture. Then, slice it into small strips (about the same size as the aburaage slices).
  
• Cut 3 oz carrot into julienne pieces.
  
• Cut ¼ lotus root (renkon) into thin quarter pieces.
  

To Cook the Hijiki Salad

• Heat 1 Tbsp neutral oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the carrot and lotus root and cook until they are coated with oil.
  
• Add the hijiki, then the konnyaku and aburaage. Mix it all together.
  
• Add 2 cups dashi (Japanese soup stock) and let it boil.
  
• Add all the seasonings: ¼ cup mirin, 2 Tbsp sugar, and ¼ cup soy sauce. Mix well. Cook covered on medium-low heat for 20–30 minutes.
  
• Add ⅓ cup shelled edamame.
  
• Continue to cook, uncovered, to reduce the sauce until you see the bottom of the pan.
  

To Serve

• Serve as a side to a Japanese meal or pack in a bento lunch box. For convenient meal prep, you can divide the Hijiki Salad into a bento portion in silicone cups for freezing.
  

To Store

• Store in an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days. You can also freeze it for up to a month.