The post on the CHOW about the Japanese spice "Shichimi" inspired me to make this dish today. I've never thought of Shichimi as an "all-purpose" seasoning though.. Shichimi is not something we use so often in everyday cooking. As a matter of fact, only time I really use Shichimi is to sprinkle a little bit on Udon noodle soup to add some kick to it. But anyways, this write-up made me want to explore other ways to use this interesting spice. So, here is my recipe for today, using the "shichimi" spice.
Ingredients:
4 pickling cucumber (or 1 English cucumber, or 2 Japanese cucumber)
Soy Dressing:
1 TBS Japanese soy sauce
1/2 TBS Sesame oil
1 TBS Juice from the grated ginger
1 TBS Roasted sesame seeds
1 pinch (or to taste) Shichimi
About Shichimi:
Also known as "Shichimi Togarashi". "Shichi" means Seven and "mi" means Favours, and "Togarashi" means capcicum. As the name says, it is a spice consisting seven different flavours. It generally contains, poppy seeds, sansho (a spice with a flavor like Sichuan peppercorn), dried tangerine peel, seaweed flakes, ginger, sesame seeds, and can also include mustard seeds, hemp seeds, shiso leaves etc. Actual ingredients may vary depending on the brand.
1. Beat the cucumbers lightly with a meat tenderizer hammer and cut them in bite size lengths.
Beating the cucumber creates more surface areas to absorb the dressing, but be gentle, you don't want to end up with the mashed cucumbers..
2. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the soy dressing.
3. Toss the cucumber with the soy dressing.
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