Author Notes: As I grew up in Tokyo, my grandma used to tell me to eat lots of Wakame (tender seaweed) to keep my hair healthy and shiny. Many grocery stores, health food stores, and Asian markets carry dried Wakame, in a small bag. You can certainly use a colandar to add soaked wakame to the dressing. But by lifting with hand, you can make sure any sandy residue to be left behind. Besides, it will be one less item to clean!! The recipe is great for dieters (filling and nutritious with super low calorie) and raw friendly, by the way. —Mayumigolf
Serves: 1-2
Ingredients
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1/3
cup dried wakame
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3
tablespoons Japanese rice vinegar (or black vinegar)
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1
blood orange or mandarin orange
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1
teaspoon soy sauce
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1
Japanese or Persian cucumber, sliced
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1
pinch Japanese Shichimi pepper (or cayenne pepper)
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1
teaspoon sesame seed
Directions
- Place wakame in a medium-size bowl. Pour water (warm water, if in a hurry). swish around and set aside for 1 minute to soak.
- In a separate bowl, place the rice vinegar. Zest the orange and add to the vinegar. Roll the orange on a cutting board (chef’s tip: to yield more juice), halve the orange, squeeze the juice, and add the juice to the bowl. Lift wakame carefully from the water, gently squeezing the water out, and add to the bowl. Mix well, and add soy sauce to taste.
- Cover a serving plate with cucumber slices. Mound the wakame salad on top. Sprinkle with sesami and Shichimi to taste, and serve!