Japanese Food: Tako no Sunomono (Octopus Salad)

“Tako” means octopus in Japanese. I know many of you can’t believe we eat octopus but it’s incredibly popular in Japan. It’s fairly similar in taste to squid, so if you like calamari, you are ready to try tako!

Yield: 

 =2 servings

Time:  

=12 minutes

Ingredients

=1/4 lb boiled tako (sliced)
=3 small cucumbers (or 1 large cucumber)
=1/3 cup dried wakame (seaweed)
=2 oz thinly cut ginger (optional)
=Spices
=2 tbsp vinegar
=1/2 tsp soy sauce
=1 1/2 tbsp sugar
=1/4 tsp salt
=1 tbsp salt (for cucumber)

Preparation

=Peel the cucumber, then sprinkle salt on top and massage

=Rinse cucumber, pat dry, and slice into thin wheels

=Soak dried wakame (seaweed) in hot water a minute or so until it is moist

=Mix spices (vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and salt) in a small bowl

=Toss tako, cucumber, and wakame in a different bowl, then splash with mixed spices

=Place in a serving dish, top with ginger (optional), then chill in fridge before serving (optional, but recommended)