Japanese Cucumber And Ham Salad (Sunomono)
The traditional Japanese cucumber and ham salad recipe, with step-by-step instructions, for a quick and easy salad.
Ingredients
- 1 cucumber
- 2 slices lean cooked ham just under 1/4 in (1/2 cm) thick
- 1 oz fresh ginger; finely grated
- 4 1/2 floz sambai zu dressing see below
- salt
garnish with:
- cucumber fans
for the sambai zu dressing:
- 2 tbsp Japanese light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Japanese rice vinegar or 1 1/2 tbsp cider vinegar mixed with 1/2 tbsp water and 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 6 tbsp sunflower oil
- salt and freshly ground white or black pepper
Instructions
- Wash the cucumber and cut off the ends. Take a handful of salt and rub it hard into the skin all over; this will preserve and enhance the green colour.
- Wipe the skin with a clean cloth. Cut the cucumber lengthwise into quarters. Use a curved vegetable knife or tip of metal spoon to remove the seed-bearing section and a thin layer of flesh beneath it.
- Cut the remaining flesh and skin into regular, matchstick strips. Cut the ham into matchstick strips of the same size.
- Using your fingers, mix gently together in a bowl as briefly as possible to avoid breaking up the strips.
- Cover the bowl with cling film and chill in the refrigerator.
- Make the sambai zu dressing and stir in the grated ginger. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Just before serving, transfer the salad to small bowls and decorate each portion with a cucumber fan.
- Serve, handing round the dressing separately.
- for the sambai zu dressing:
- Make the dressing just before serving: mix the vinegar with 2 pinches of salt and the soy sauce in a bowl.
- Beat in the oil, adding a little at a time so that it forms an emulsion, using a small balloon whisk or birch twig whisk. Add freshly ground pepper to taste and serve without delay.
Calories: 321 kcal
Carbohydrates: 7 g
Protein: 5 g
Fat: 31g
Saturated Fat: 4 g
Trans Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 9 mg
Sodium: 1002 mg
Potassium: 219 mg
Fiber: 1 g
Sugar: 5 g
Vitamin A: 66 IU
Vitamin C: 3 mg
Calcium: 19 mg
Iron: 1 mg