Cucumber Squeezebox Salad - Jabara Kyuuri no Sunomono

[helenjp]

Cucumber Squeezebox Salad - Jabara Kyuuri no Sunomono

Serves 4 as Salad.

Make this ahead - it tastes much better the next day.

The chunks of sliced cucumber and daikon are dressed with onion, dried shiitake, and semi-Chinese seasonings.

• 3 Japanese cucumbers
  
• 1/2 thinnish daikon
  
• 3 large dried shiitake
  
• 1 knob ginger
  
• 1 negi (Japanese dividing onion)
  
• 1 dried chili pod
  
• 2 T sesame oil (Jpaanese toasted sesame oil)
  
• 1-1/2 T soy sauce
  
• 2 T sugar
  
• 4 T rice vinegar
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
  

* Soak dried shiitake in some water in a small ziploc bag.

* Lay cucumber on chopping board between two long cooking chopsticks. Slice finely, holding chopsticks so that knife does not cut completely through the cucumber. Cut into short lengths. Drop into salted water for 20-30 minutes.

* Peel daikon, cut into lengths, split vertically into about 6 sections, so that each section is around the same thickness as a cucumber. Slice each section the same as the cucumber. Drop into salted water for 20-30 minutes.

* Drain and squeeze cucumber and daikon, mix together in a bowl.

* When shiitake are soft, trim off stalks, and cut caps into fine shreds.

* Thinly peel ginger, slice thinly, and cut into fine shreds.

* Peel outer skin of negi if necessary, cut into 4cm lengths, halve vertically, and cut into fine shreds.

* Remove seeds from chili pod, cut into fine rings.

* Heat sesame oil in a shallow pan or frypan, and add chili, ginger, shiitake, and negi in that order. Stir over high heat briefly, then add seasonings, bring to the boil, and immediately remove from heat and pour over vegetables, stirring to mix.

* Cool and keep refrigerated till needed.

Keywords: Salad, Vegetables, Hors d'oeuvre, Japanese, Vegetarian, Easy

( RG2070 )