JAPANESE SMASHED CUCUMBER SALAD
たたききゅうり
Cool, crisp, and refreshingly simple, Japanese Smashed Cucumber salad, たたききゅうり Tataki-kyuri in Japanese, is an izakaya classic and brings a whole new flavour and feeling to eating fresh cucumber.
You can make the dressing in advance, but be sure to dress the cucumbers just before serving for peak crispness.
If you can find it, the addition of “Shio Kombu” which is strips of seasoned and salted seaweed, really make this simple dish pop.
INGREDIENTS
Main Ingredients
1 medium cucumber (or 2 small)
1 tbsp Shio Kombu (salted seaweed)
Dressing
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
½ tsp garlic salt
Pinch of white sugar
Dash of red pepper flakes
MAKE THE DRESSING
Mix all the dressing ingredients in a small jar or bowl.
PRO TIP: Start by adding the dry ingredients then the wet ingredients so you don’t have to things sticking to your spoon or measuring device.
Make sure to whisk until all ingredients have dissolved to make the dressing.
PEEL THE CUCUMBER
🔪🥒
You don’t want to remove all the skin, but rather peel a strip from end to end, then rotate the cucumber leaving a bit of skin, then peel another strip. This should leave some skin on the cucumber in a striped pattern.
SMASH THE CUCUMBER
🔨🥒
Place cucumbers on a cutting board and use a pestle or rolling pin to gently smash the cucumbers.
Pound one side of the cucumber, around 4 smashes top to bottom. Then, rotate the cucumber and smash it on another side.
PRO TIP: Put the cucumber inside a large ziploc bag to prevent flying pieces
CUT THE CUCUMBER
✂️🥒
Once the cucumber is completely broken open, cut off the ends. Then, use your fingers to break apart the rest of the cucumber.
Use a knife to slice the cucumber into pieces small enough to comfortably pick up with chopsticks.
MIX TOGETHER
🥗
Just before serving, toss the cucumbers in the dressing and mix thoroughly making sure to coat all pieces evenly with dressing.
ADD SHIO KOMBU
If you have shio kombu, sprinkle about 1 tbsp on and gentle toss.
PRO TIP: Aim to have a roughly a strand of shio kombu for each piece of cucumber
Serve and eat within the hour (otherwise the cucumber will get soft) and enjoy this izakaya classic with a cold glass of beer or oolong tea.
