Recipe: Cucumber Salad (Kyuri no Sunomono)

From “Japanese Cuisine for Everyone” by Yukiko Moriyama
Presented August 21, 2010 during the "Japanese Cooking with Terry and Mike" Cooking Demo

Salad Ingredients: 

1 2/5 oz. dried wakame seaweed (optional)
2 cucumbers
4 tsp toasted white sesame seeds
(2/3 C water, 1 tsp salt to soak cucumber slices)

Dressing Ingredients:

1/3 C rice vinegar
½ to 1 tsp. soy sauce
1 ½ T. sugar
¼ tsp. salt

Instructions:

1. Soak dried wakame seaweed in cold water until soft about 20 minutes.  Rinse in hot water, then plunge into cold water to retain texture and color.  Drain and squeeze.
2. Peel cucumber if using if using wax cucumbers.  Do not peel if using Japanese cucumbers.  Slice very thinly.  Soak in water and salt mixture for a few minutes; drain and squeeze. 
3. In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the Dressing. Stir until well blended. Coat wakame seaweed and cucumber with dressing and toss lightly.  Serve salad in  4 small bowls and sprinkle with sesame seeds.