Japanese Sunomono Vinegared Dishes and Su-Miso Application

Ingredients

• For the kyuri sunomono
• 2 Japanese kyuri cucumbers, smashed with flat of knife, then sliced on the bias
• 1 tsp fine sea salt, for shio momi salt-drawing
• 20 g dried wakame seaweed, rehydrated in cold water, briefly blanched, squeezed dry
• For the sanbaizu (awasezu)
• 60 ml rice vinegar
• 20 ml soy sauce
• 20 ml mirin
• For the tosazuke variation
• 5 g katsuobushi (bonito flakes), steeped in hot rice vinegar for 5 minutes, then strained and cooled
• For the nuta su-miso
• 60 g shiro (white) miso, not akamiso
• 30 ml rice vinegar, increase proportion in summer; reduce in winter
• 20 ml mirin
• For the nuta
• 200 g negi spring onions, lightly charred on binchotan or open flame before dressing
• To garnish
• 4 thin slices yuzu or shiso leaves, placed just before service

Method

1. 1
   Salt-draw the cucumber. Smash each kyuri with the flat of a knife to create irregular surfaces, then slice on the bias. Toss with fine sea salt and leave 10 minutes. Squeeze the cucumber firmly in both hands, discarding all expelled liquid. The cucumber must feel almost dry to the touch; any residual moisture will dilute the awasezu.
2. 2
   Prepare the wakame. Rehydrate dried wakame in cold water until fully pliable, then blanch briefly in boiling water and refresh immediately in cold water. Squeeze dry. Wakame left raw-dried in dressing is unacceptable; it will not yield the correct texture against the cucumber.
3. 3
   Build the sanbaizu. Combine rice vinegar, soy sauce, and mirin in a small bowl and stir until the mirin is fully incorporated. The dressing should read as sweet-sharp-savoury in balance — no single element dominant on the palate. For a tosazuke variation, steep the katsuobushi in the hot vinegar for 5 minutes before adding soy and mirin, then strain and cool completely before use.
4. 4
   This is where the dish lives or dies. Dress the squeezed cucumber and wakame with the sanbaizu only at the moment of service — not before. Over-marination softens the cucumber's snap and collapses the textural contrast that defines sunomono. Toss lightly, taste for the sharp-sweet-savoury balance, and adjust with a few drops of vinegar or mirin as required.
5. 5
   For the nuta su-miso: whisk shiro miso, rice vinegar, and mirin together until smooth and homogenous. The mixture should be creamy and pourable, neither stiff nor watery. Adjust the vinegar-to-miso ratio according to season — a higher vinegar proportion in summer for brightness, more miso in winter for depth.
6. 6
   Prepare the negi for nuta. Lightly char the spring onions on binchotan or an open flame until the outer layer colours and the onion softens slightly, then cut into 4 cm lengths. Dress with the su-miso immediately before service. The negi should retain a degree of structure beneath the char — collapse indicates overcooking.
7. 7
   Serve all sunomono thoroughly chilled. Transfer dressed portions to small ceramic bowls, place a thin slice of yuzu or a single shiso leaf on each portion at the last moment. The dish should arrive at the table cold; a warm sunomono is a failed sunomono.