I will introduce you to “Seaweed and Cucumber Salad” tossed with vinegar and sugar. It is very healthy and delicious! In Japan, we often eat this dish as a side dish because vinegar improves our appetite. And also dishes which include vinegar keep longer. This dish can keep about 5 days in the refrigerator. This is why Sushi rice is seasoned with vinegar. (Basically in Japan about 800 years ago, Sushi was not an expensive food like nowadays. It was a preservative food for common people. The conception was people put pickled fish on cooked rice and fermented it for a day.)
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You can use some other ingredients for this salad recipe, such as seafood, carrot, Daikon, mushrooms, bean sprouts and so on. But seaweed and cucumber are the most popular ingredients in Japan. Cucumber is high in potassium so it is good for modern humans who tend to eat a high-salt diet. If you want to be healthier, it is good to eat more seaweed because seaweed is high in soluble fiber. Exercising and eating healthy is important to a good diet and the most important thing for improving your digestion and the function of your intestines. So if you want to try to be healthier, at first please think about your digestion. You should eat both insoluble fiber (vegetables, potatoes, mushrooms, beans…) and soluble fiber like seaweed to make your bowels work well. Please add this healthy side dish to your meals!
{Ingredients (servings 2)}
2 Tbsp. Dried Seaweed
A small Cucumber
1 Tbsp. plus 1 cup Water
2 Tbsp. Rice Vinegar
1 tsp. Yamasa Organic Soy Sauce
(Recommended Gluten-Free Soy Sauce)Soy Sauce REDUCED SODIUM [Gluten Free] (Organic)
1 tsp. Sugar
1 tsp. Cooking Sake
A pinch of Salt
Here is my recipe in PDF: Seaweed Salad (Oil-Free)
March 10, 2016 at 3:08 am
My husband loves this side salad. Seeing your picture I’ve just realised that I haven’t eaten it in months. Perhaps because of winter? Is this a dish usually served in warmer weather instead? Actually, Japan is so seasonal with produce it’s probably because there are so few cucumbers in store at the moment. 😂
Speaking of weather/food related changes, I’m sad that take no ko and tori gobou rice dishes have become sakura ebi in time for spring. 😫 I loved them so much this winter!
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March 14, 2016 at 8:27 pm
We eat a lot this kind of dish that is called “Suno-mono” in summer but we eat all season at home. My mother have us eat “Suno-mono” “Miso soup” “Natto” “Tsuke-mono” everyday because of healthy.
I have never thought I can’t get cucumber very much in winter. I think cucumber is the easiest vegetable to get in Japan.
Tori Gobou Rice!!! I live them too! And I also love Sakura Ebi 🙂
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