Seaweed Salad with Cucumber and Chicken or Shrimp

• 2 ounces wakame or assorted seaweeds
• 2 medium to large cucumbers, preferably thin skinned, like English or Japanese
• 1 pound shredded cooked chicken or roughly chopped cooked shrimp, optional
• 1/2 cup minced shallot, scallion, or red onion
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice or other light vinegar
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
• Salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (page 596), optional

1. Rinse the seaweed once and soak it in at least 10 times its volume of water for 5 minutes, until tender.
2. Meanwhile, wash and dice the cucumbers; do not peel unless necessary.
3. Drain and gently squeeze the seaweed to remove excess water.
4. Pick through the seaweed to sort out any hard bits (there may be none) and chop or cut up (it may be easier to use scissors than a knife) if the pieces are large.
5. Combine the cucumbers and seaweed in a bowl.
6. Add the chicken or shrimp if using.
7. Toss with the remaining ingredients except the sesame seeds; taste and add salt or other seasonings as necessary and serve, garnished with the sesame seeds if you like.

wakame, cucumbers, chicken, shallot, soy sauce, rice, mirin, dark sesame oil, cayenne, salt, sesame seeds

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/seaweed-salad-with-cucumber-and-chicken-or-shrimp-386091 (may not work)