Sunomono - An Easy Japanese Vinegar Salad

From the kitchen of One Perfect...We had another unexpectedly warm day and the gift of cucumbers from a friend gave me an excuse to make a much simpler supper than I had planned. These were the first yellow cucumbers I've had and I was really curious about their taste. As it turns out, the flesh is identical in flavor to that of the green variety, but the skin is unpleasantly bitter. Sunomono is a vinegared salad that is made with cucumbers or other fresh vegetables. Small pieces of seafood, such as crab, octopus or shrimp can also be added to make the salad more substantial. This is a very easy dish to make and it is elegant in its simplicity. The word sunomono means vinegared things, so you'll find there are many versions of this dish. I've added far more shrimp than are normally used in its preparation because I wanted to use it as a main course salad for the two of us. I usually make the salad with the near seedless English or Japanese cucumber. For those of you who have never seen the Japanese variety, they look like English cucumbers with warts. I do hope you'll give this simple recipe a try. Here's how to make this light and refreshing salad.

Sunomono...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Things Asian

Ingredients:
Salad
1 large cucumber(English or Japanese)
1 pound small cooked shrimp
Dressing
1 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup mirin or sake
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

Directions:
1) Wash a large cucumber and trim off ends. Slice cucumber in half lengthwise and scrape out seeds with a teaspoon. Cut cucumber halves into paper-thin slices and place in a bowl. Add shrimp, toss to coat and marinate for 2 hours (stirring occasionally) in dressing.
2) Thoroughly mix and serve sunomono in small individual dishes with a slotted spoon to drain off excess marinade. Garnish with a pinch of pickled ginger and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Yield: 4 servings.

                    

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