River Cottage

If it's good enough for a Buddhist monk, it's good enough for Hugh. Sachiko Saeki teaches him how to make a traditional vegan temple meal

Serves 6

• 1 tbsp hijiki seaweed* (see below)
• 1 block silken tofu, left to drain in a sieve for 1 hour
• 2 small cooked edo yams, grated
• 1 heaped tsp shredded carrot peelings
• 2 sugar snap peas, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
• Oil, for frying

For the carrot stew

• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced into thick coins
• 1 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
• 1-2 tbsp mirin (see note)
• 500ml shiitake stock

For the broad beans

• 100g broad beans
• Kelp stock
• Table salt, to sprinkle

1. Put the seaweed in cold water and leave to soak for around 10 minutes, or until it has softened and increased in volume.

2. Meanwhile, place the tofu in a sieve over a bowl and press down with a spoon so that all of the tofu is pressed through.

3. Add the yam, shredded carrot peelings and sugar snaps to the tofu mix. In a pestle and mortar, grind your sesame seeds to a coarse sandy texture, and add them to the tofu mix too. Drain the water from the hijiki and add to the mixture along with the soy sauce and stir well.

4. Form into patties of around 4 cm wide, then deep-fry until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper.

5. Boil the carrots in the stock, soy sauce and mirin for 10 minutes then add the tofu cakes, turn down the heat to low, cover the liquid with a disk of greaseproof paper and cook for a further 15 minutes.

6. Place the broad beans in a pan and pour in enough stock to just cover them. Bring to the boil, then simmer for a couple of minutes until just cooked through. Strain and serve sprinkled with a little salt.

Note: Due to high levels of toxins within hijiki seaweed, the FSA cautions against consumption in large quantities. An alternative to hijiki seaweeds is arame, another seaweed which does not contain any toxins and can be bought from most Japanese groceries and health food shops.

Note

Mirin is a sweet cooking alcohol available at Asian supermarkets, or online at Japancentre.com