Japanese inspired "sea vegetable" salad

I prepared this Japanese inspired salad with home-cured gravlax and white rice. The gravlax had dill and was Swedish inspired. The “sea vegetable” salad was Japanese inspired. Despite being from two far distant culinary traditions, they seemed to match well together. Perhaps because they’re both “ocean foods?”

This salad is easy to make and would be just fine served alone, with rice, miso soup or fish.

Japanese inspired “sea vegetable” salad

½ head lettuce
½ head frisée
A few strands dry wakame sea vegetable
½ English cucumber, cut into thin slices
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 ½ tbsp rice vinegar
½ tsp sugar
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp black toasted sesame seeds
Togarashi(shichimi) dry pepper mix
Kosher salt

Boil 4 cups of water, remove from heat, add wakame and let it re-hydrate for about 10 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water. Cut into strips.

we use this brand of wakame

Slice cucumber thinly. Sprinkle with salt and let it sweat at room temperature for about half hour. Rinse it in plenty of cold water. Set aside.

Tear lettuce and frisée into bite size pieces and place them into a bowl. Add wakame, sesame oil, soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar and toss with your hands. Taste and adjust flavors. Top with cucumber slices, black sesame seeds and a sprinkle of togarashi pepper mix. This salad has a delicious sea,sweet, tangy and smoky flavor.