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1
Slice the cucumber thinly and place in a colander. Sprinkle evenly with fine sea salt (shio-furi). Rest for 10 minutes — the salt draws excess moisture that would otherwise dilute the dressing. The cucumber is ready when it has visibly softened and beads of liquid have formed on its surface.
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2
Gather the salted cucumber in both hands and squeeze firmly to expel as much drawn liquid as possible. Repeat until no further liquid can be pressed out. Transfer to a clean bowl. Prepare the wakame: if dried, rehydrate in cold water for 10 minutes then squeeze fully dry; if fresh, blanch for 30 seconds and shock in ice water, then drain completely. Both must be entirely free of standing moisture before proceeding.
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3
Combine the rice vinegar, soy sauce, and mirin in equal parts to form the sanbaizu. Stir to integrate. If ginger is used, grate it finely and stir into the sanbaizu immediately before use — not in advance. The dressing should smell clean and bright, the vinegar present but not aggressive, the mirin rounding the edge without sweetness becoming dominant.
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4
This is where the dish lives or dies: dress the cucumber, wakame, and shrimp with the sanbaizu only in the moment before the sunomono reaches the table — never in advance. Toss gently to coat all components. The dressing must coat and cling rather than pool; if it pools, the squeeze step was insufficient. Taste: the acid should provide brightness, not sharpness; the soy, depth without weight; the mirin, integration without sweetness.
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5
Portion into small, deep individual bowls. The sunomono should sit compact and glistening, with no liquid collecting at the base of the bowl. Serve immediately. A prepared but undressed sunomono may be held refrigerated for up to 2 hours; once dressed, it must be served at once.