A few months ago I went to Japan with some friends. At a hotel we stayed at, they provided a big sampling of traditional Japanese food for dinner. One of the things I was surprised to like was a small vegetable dish. I’m usually pretty picky and that can make it hard to get veggies in my diet, but this was good and seemed like it would be pretty simple to make once you had the sauce.
I want to try to replicate it at home, but the problem is I don’t actually know what it is called and I don’t know the exact ingredients. It’s been a while, but I think it was a mix of shredded carrots and some other small shredded or stringy veggies. Maybe bean sprouts? I think the sauce was sweet/savory and colored the veggies brown. I imagine at the very least there was soy sauce in there, but I don’t know what else.
Any idea what this might have been? I’d also be happy to get some other recipes that would make for some easy veggie meals/snacks/sides for a picky eater.
Maybe kinpira gobo? Gobo is a.k.a. burdock root. I live near a really good Asian grocery store which carries gobo and I remember seeing this recipe that includes carrots when trying to research ways of preparing it.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/kinpira-gobo-braised-burdock-root/
That could be it. It looks similar.
Are you thinking of Namasu? https://www.justonecookbook.com/namasu-daikon-and-carrot-salad/
I was a chef at a vegan/veggie restaurant, here are a few easy ways to work in veggies:
Chickpea salad: Mixed drained and rinsed canned chickpeas with diced anything and a dressing of your choice. I make a simple dressing with olive oil, apple cider vinegar(just a splash,) cumin and greek seasoning. My favorite things to mix in are: red onions, bell peppers and parsley.
Everything nachos: Take a can of mixed beans, drained and rinsed, and mix in taco seasoning. Put them on your nachos under the cheese. Broil at 450F for 4-5 minutes.
Other things to add before cooking: Diced peppers, diced pickles of any kind(surprisingly good,) red onion, avocado and carrots.
Veggie chips: Thinly slice beets, carrots, parsnip, potatoes, whatever, and toss with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 425F for 10-15mins.
Alternatively, fry the sliced veggies in a pot of oil, then toss with seasoning.
Not OP but that looks like what they’re describing. I also think maybe the dressing was carrot and ginger.
Another easy way to get veggies into your diet is to make salsa. It’s basically blended tomato with aromatics and chili.
I also like cooked vegetables so much more than raw and roasted vegetables with garlic is fairly simple to make.
That looks sort of like what I remember. I’ll give it and your other suggestions a try. Thanks!
Just a reminder. Always take photos of menus or signs anywhere you go when you find yummy food.
It’s helped me out back home a few times. Around here, nobody bakes a: Banoffee pie. I had to custom order one. Came out really good.
Definitely regretting not getting a photo. I don’t tend to take a lot of pictures in general. I think I maybe have like 2 or 3 from the trip and they’re all group shots with my friends.
Yeah, it’s the small items that get overlooked.
Hijiki no nimono maybe?
It’s actually a seaweed, but is very common, usually a little sweet, and mixed with carrots / beans / etc.
Super healthy and lowers cholesterol.
Sauce could be soy sauce, and the dish, well, it could be anything really…
There’s hundreds of vegetable dishes in Japan.
Just a guess, maybe it’s sesame salad dressing https://www.justonecookbook.com/sesame-dressing/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/hijiki-salad/
Is it hijiki? Seems to match a least some parts of your description. It’s a traditional Japanese dish (other east Asian cultures as well), kind of sweet, uses sauce and boiled vegetables. It also has tofu in it.
I don’t think so, but that looks like it might be worth a try.
Not an answer to what your dish is as others have already answered that, but it would help to know what food you do like as a picky eater, to suggest vegetable dishes that you would like. Going along with the Japanese theme, you could try vegetable tempura as a tasty way to get veggies. East Asia has a lot of yummy ways to eat vegetables. Stir fried, included in noodle dishes, kimchi, etc.
