I love the salads in Japanese restaurants and this salad is super healthy and refreshing and works well with fish and sushi. I’ve even eaten it on a Ryvita with a sliced boiled egg. It’s crunchy, creamy, very tasty and looks gorgeous and I also sometimes eat it with avocados as it’s another great combo. If you prepare it in advance, keep it in the fridge and put the dressing and sesame seeds on just before you serve it.

Perfect combo with my previous recipe for japanese aubergines.

Recipe:

Serves 4.

Ingredients:
150g of radishes
1/2 cucumber
2 teaspoons of maple syrup
4 teaspoons of tahini
2 tablespoons of soya sauce (if required, gluten free soya sauce is available)
2 teaspoons of toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons of water
1/2 teaspoon of fresh grated ginger root
4 teaspoons of rice vinegar
1 teaspoon of black sesame seeds
Salt and pepper to taste (optional)

How:

Make the dressing by whisking the tahini, maple syrup, soya sauce, sesame oil, water, ginger and rice vinegar together in a bowl until smooth and creamy and set aside.
Very finely slice the cucumber into ribbons length wise, I use a very good potato peeler with a sharp blade for this as it makes great ribbons.

Then very finely slice the radishes, you can do this with a sharp knife, but I use the finest setting on my mandolin as this creates even slices that are wafer thin and look beautiful. If you haven’t got a mandolin, mine only cost £8.00, it’s a basic plastic one and does the job beautifully and quickly and I use it all the time, but be careful not to cut your fingers when using it as I have, as the blade is really sharp.

Place the cucumber and radishes on a serving plate or plates and pour the dressing over the top and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Eat straight away. This recipe is perfect with fish and seafood, or as a side dish with sushi.

I shop at:
Waitrose
Sainsbury’s
Tesco
Lidl