Crab Meat and Seaweed Salad

A light and delicate dressing that brings out the full flavour of crab meat. Serves four

Ingredients:
10g dried wakame seaweed*
220g fresh or frozen white crab meat
½ cucumber

Ginger vinegar dressing:
100ml very dilute chicken stock made with a bouillon cube
5 tbsp Mitsukan Seasoned Rice Vinegar
5 tbsp Japanese soy
50g ginger root, peeled

Method:
Soak the wakame in ample water for 20 minutes, drain and squeeze out. Replace the seaweed in a bowl and cover with boiling water, immediately drain and refresh with cold water. Drain and squeeze gently. Fluff the wakame up in a bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Half peel the cucumber in strips. Remove the seeds with an apple corer. Thinly slice and salt generously. Place in a bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Mix the chicken stock, Seasoned Rice Vinegar and soy sauce in a pan and bring to a boil then cool rapidly by placing into a chilled bowl. Grate the ginger onto a cloth placed in a sieve. Squeeze the juice out of the ginger into the cooling dressing.  Discard the ginger pulp.

Lightly rinse and squeeze out the cucumber, arrange with the seaweed in four bowls. Place the crab meat on top and spoon over the dressing, reserving some to serve separately.

Serve sprinkled with a little chopped coriander.

*available from large supermarkets and oriental grocers in 25g packets.  Alternatively use spinach or bok choy.