Refreshing and delicious cucumber dishes. 2 Japanese authentic vegan recipes!

rice vinegar

🥗Healthier: apple cider vinegar

💰Cheaper: white vinegar

Apple cider vinegar adds a fruity note while being healthier.

sesame oil

🥗Healthier: olive oil

💰Cheaper: canola oil

Olive oil is a healthier fat option.

dashi

🥗Healthier: vegetable broth

💰Cheaper: water + soy sauce

Vegetable broth provides umami without fish.

sugar

🥗Healthier: honey

💰Cheaper: agave syrup

Honey is a natural sweetener with a distinct flavor.

Introduce two cucumber side dishes: cucumber with umeboshi and cucumber with ginger vinegar sauce.

Prepare umeboshi by adding 100 g to a resistant pot with 50 g of mint and 50 g of sake.

Heat the mixture for a few minutes to remove the alcohol, then reduce the sauce over low heat for about 10 minutes.

Drain the umeboshi and remove the seeds, chopping it finely into a paste.

Transfer the paste to a traditional Japanese grater bowl (suribachi) and mix with the sauce gradually to avoid making it watery.

Prepare salt water by adding 12 g of salt to water and soaking the cucumbers for ideally over 30 minutes.

Wash the cucumbers to remove salt and smoothen their surface.

Cut the cucumbers using a traditional technique called jabari, making fine cuts to create a snake-like shape and then cut into bite-sized pieces.

Add the cucumber pieces to the salt water to remove excess water and flavor them.

After 20 minutes, squeeze out the water from the cucumbers to enhance their flavor.

Prepare the ginger vinegar sauce by combining 180 g of kombu dashi, 60 g of rice vinegar, 30 g of mirin, and 30 g of soy sauce, heating until boiling and then cooling.

Grate ginger and add about 3 g of ginger juice to the sauce, adjusting to taste.

Combine the cucumber with the ginger vinegar sauce, mixing just before serving to maintain texture.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary

Allergens