Mission Chinese Food’s Cabbage Salad

Step 1

Cut cabbage in half, and remove core. Cut into 1-inch wedges and then into 1-inch pieces. Toss these lightly in a bowl, and set aside.

Step 2

Under running cold water, scrub beet with a vegetable brush or paper towel. Trim the beet top and beet root to provide a flat base for slicing on a mandoline. Set thickness to 1/8 inch, and slice beets into flat rounds. Season beets with half the lemon juice, and add them to the bowl with cabbage. Set aside.

Step 3

Make sesame-anchovy dressing. In a small bowl, cover hijiki with warm tap water. Allow to bloom for 15 minutes, then drain well, and season with umevinegar or red-wine vinegar. Add miso, tahini, rice vinegar, shiro shoyu, theremaining lemon juice and the anchovies, and whisk to combine. Dressingshould have a thick, almost mayonnaise-like consistency.

Step 4

Make the kasha furikake. Pour neutral oil into a sauté pan, and place over medium-high heat until it begins to shimmer. Pour kasha into the hot pan,and stir it quickly with a spoon to coat with oil. Allow kasha to fry in the oil,stirring constantly, until it has darkened by two shades of brown. Drain kashathrough a fine strainer, and transfer to a plate covered by paper towel. Whileit is hot, season with the seaweed, which should adhere to the kasha. When ithas cooled, mix kasha in a small bowl with the toasted sesame seeds and, ifusing, the shio kombu. Salt to taste.

Step 5

Make the salad. Add 3 tablespoons ofthe sesame-anchovy dressing to the bowlwith the cabbage and the beets, andmix well to combine. Add more dressing ifnecessary. Transfer the salad to a servingbowl, and sprinkle 4 tablespoons or so ofthe kasha furikake over the top. (Leftoverkasha furikake may be passed at thetable, or saved to eat over white rice.)