Mozuku Cucumber - a Special Treat from Okinawa

Mozuku, a special seaweed naturally found in Okinawa, Japan. The version I used here came in air-tight package, the dried version. Just soak in water for around 5 to 10 minutes, the seaweed will be hydrated again and transformed into ready to eat gooey slimy seaweed.

Mozuku cucumber -

Ingredients?

• 3 skinny cucumber
• 13 grams dried mozuku
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon double-concentrated tsuyu
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• Some salt

How?

Don't be scared by its slimy texture. Mozuku can be seemed as one of the superfoods. It's rich in fucoidan, more so an antimicrobial substance with health benefits such as anti-coagulant, anti-inflammatory, and immune-enhancing. It's also high in dietary fibre, which is good for digestion.

So to start with dried mozuku, soak it in water for about 5 to 10 minutes in a bowl. Once hydrated, drain out excess water and set aside for later use.

Slice the cucumbers. Massage these cucumber slices with some salt. 

A quick marinate for couple minutes. Squeeze out the liquid then further draw out remaining water using a paper towel.

Take a bowl, mix in 1 tablespoon of tsuyu, 2 teaspoons of sugar, and 1/4 cup of rice vinegar. Mix and make sure the sugar has been fully dissolved. 

Mix in the cucumber slices and mozuku. Adjust the taste with more seasonings if needed.

It tastes better after resting in the fridge till cold. Serve as a small cold side dish, perfect for this scorching weather.

Notice that only 1 tablespoon of tsuyu is needed at first for this recipe. The reason is that the cucumber slices were "massaged" with salt earlier, and there's no rinsing required afterward. So these cucumber slices were already somewhat salty. As a result, don't use too much tsuyu. Only pour more when needed after mixing all the ingredients together.


Extended reading:

• Mentaiko cucumber