Go Back
+ servings
Cucamelon Sunomono (Japanese vinegared noodle salad), made with shirataki noodles and unique, tiny cucamelons (aka mouse melons) - Diversivore.com
Print

Cucamelon Sunomono

The world's cutest fruit/vegetable gets all dressed up in this amazing vegan Japanese sweet-sour salad. One serving is a paltry (and astonishing) 43 calories!
Course Appetizer, Pasta & Noodles, Pickle/Chutney/Salsa etc., Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine Asian, Japanese
Keyword cucamelon, shirataki, sunomono variation, vegan
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Resting Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Calories 43kcal

Ingredients

  • 200 g cucamelons (about 1 heaping cup, or a quarter-pint container)
  • 50 g green daikon (~ 2 inches)
  • 2 tbsp dashi (see note)
  • 3 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp mirin
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp ginger very finely julienned
  • 250 g shirataki noodles
  • radish greens (optional) to serve

Instructions

  • If you're making your own dashi, do that first. I use a simple kombu dashi, without katsuobushi for this dish (see note below concerning dashi and substitutions).
  • Optional - If you're using good mirin with a relatively high alcohol content, many like to very briefly boil it in order to cook off some of the sharp alcoholic flavour. Note that you will not actually boil off much of the alcohol itself by doing this. Simply heat a small saucepan over high heat, add the mirin, allow it to boil vigorously for 10-20 seconds, then remove it from the heat and allow it to cool somewhat before continuing.
  • Wash and halve the cucamelons and set aside. Peel the daikon and slice into very thin rounds (a mandoline makes short work of this).
  • Combine the dashi, rice vinegar, soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil, and ginger in a small container (preferably one with a lid). Add the cucamelons and daikon and combine thoroughly (I like to do this by putting a lid on the container and shaking everything very gently). Set aside in the fridge for 10-20 minutes.
  • To serve, place some shiritaki noodles in individual bowls (they don't need any cooking) and top with vegetables and the vinegar sauce. Garnish with a few radish greens if you like, and serve.

Notes

Dashi is simultaneously a simple ingredient and something of a complex one. To keep this recipe vegan and to give it a greener, less marine flavour, I make kombu-dashi, made with kombu (seaweed) only. You can also make a standard pescetarian dashi with kombu and katsuobushi. If you've never made your own dashi I do strongly recommend trying it, but you can also find instant dashi in Japanese grocery stores. Purchase carefully though, as the quality of ingredients varies a great deal, and many are primarily MSG. If you can't find or make dashi in any form, you can subsitute water - you lose a little bit of the depth of flavour, but the sunomono still turns out wonderfully.

Nutrition

Calories: 43kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Sodium: 147mg | Potassium: 76mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 100IU | Vitamin C: 7.4mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 0.5mg