Smacked Cucumber Salad is a refreshing side dish that takes no time to prepare. Similar to the Cucumber with Sesame Seeds recipe, we smack the cucumber with a rolling pin before tossing with the dressing. In this recipe, some crushed red pepper flakes and grated ginger are added for a kick. You can adjust the spiciness to your liking. This is a quick and easy side dish to serve with any Japanese dishes.
Crab and Cucumber Sunomono is a salad with fake crab meat and sliced cucumber marinated in a rice vinegar sauce. This salad is so easy to make with simple ingredients, in a matter of 10 minutes. It is also healthy, with no fat, delicious, and a wonderful side dish for Bento lunches and dinner.
There are a lot of tricks to make pretty shapes and cute characters with food in Japan. You can see more traditional ones like plum flower-shaped carrots in Chikuzenni, and also Tako Sausage for Bento box.
Tomato Santa and Cucumber Christmas Tree are a Christmas version of this style. You can not only use these as a plate of appetizers, but also add as side dishes for everyday dinner to show holiday spirit. We eat cakes like Strawberry Shortcake and Buche de Noel for Christmas in Japan. If you’re not a sweet person though, make Sushi Cake decorated with Tomato Santa and Cucumber Tree to enjoy the festivity.
Cucumber with Sesame Seeds is such a simple salad but a great small side dish. It takes literally no time to make it. The only tip here is to pound cucumbers with a pestle or a rolling pin to break them apart instead of cutting with a knife. Having a rough surface on the cucumbers makes seasonings adhere well.
Sushi Rolls or Hosomaki are a very basic but popular sushi in Japan. Hoso means thin and maki means roll. We want to say “thin” because there are also thick rolls, Futomaki. While Futomaki has a lot of fillings such as cooked vegetables and sweet fish flakes, Hosomaki rolls only have one skinny filling inside. Because of the simplicity of ingredients and cooking technique, Hosomaki is suitable for home cooking as well as restaurant food.
Cucumber and Wakame Seaweed Sunomono is a very refreshing side dish. The combination of cucumber and wakame is one of the most popular types of Sunomono. You too can make this simple and tasty dish at home.
If you have a mandolin or vegetable slicer, it’s a breeze to make this. But even if not, you can still slice cucumbers the old way, with a knife. Just need a little practice!
If you need more detailed instructions, please watch our Sunomono (Cucumber Salad) video.