Vinegared Crab Salad

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound shelled crab meat
• 1-inch piece of ginger
• 1/2 cup dashi
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 cucumber, sliced thinly
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Use a microplane to grate the ginger, then press out about a tablespoon of its juice, passing it through a strainer if you need to catch any fibers. Add that juice to the dashi, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar. Stir the mixture and leave it for 10 minutes, so the sugar has time to disappear into the dressing.
2. Sprinkle the cucumber with the salt, toss to coat, and let it sit for ten minutes. Tip the cucumber into a colander, give it a quick rinse under cold water, and let it drain.
3. Place the crab meat in a bowl and add the dashi-ginger dressing, holding back all but a few teaspoons. Fold everything together carefully, so the crab stays in generous pieces rather than breaking down.
4. Arrange the crab over the cucumber rounds. Spoon a little extra dressing onto the plates, if you like.