Sunomono Salad

Japanese Sunomono Salad is a cold dish of rice noodles, thinly sliced raw vegetables and seafood marinated in a vinegar based dressing. ("Su" means vinegar in Japanese.) The result is a light, refreshing dish, most often served as an appetizer. Sunomono is easy to prepare as it requires no cooking.

Serves 2

1 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp sake or mirin
dash soy sauce
dash sesame oil
1 tbsp agave syrup
1/2 cup warm water (use more water if you'd like to dilute the vinegar taste a bit more)

1/2 carrot, sliced very thin
1/2 cucumber, sliced very thin
2 thin slices of lemon, cut in half
handful of cooked baby shrimp (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup per person)
1 cup softened rice vermicelli noodles (prepared according to package directions)

1. In a small bowl whisk together marinade ingredients and let stand while you slice the vegetables.

2. Place carrot and cucumber slices in the marinade and leave for 5-10 minutes then remove the veggies and set aside, reserving the marinade.

3. Use small soup bowls to assemble the Sunomono. Place 1/2 cup softened rice noodles in the bottom of each bowl. Pour some marinade in until it just reaches the top (approx 1/2 cup).

4. Arrange carrots, cucumber and shrimp on top of the noodle/vinegar. Garnish with lemon slices. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve (no more than a couple hours).