Wakame (seaweed) salad

Every time my man and I go out for sushi the chef treats us to a little wakame salad to start (he knows us so it's on the house!). I fell in love with the salad and crave it other times too. So I finally set out to make my own today and it was extremely satisfying. The recipe calls for sugar but I didn't add any. I did add 1/4" wasabi paste to the dressing, gave it a lil kick! This stuff is uber healthy. Here's the recipe...

This is dried wakame. It puffs up
when rehydrated!

1/2 cup high-quality rice wine vinegar 

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1/4 ounce (10 grams) dried, ready-to-use wakame (buy this at most health food stores or at an asian market, it's cheap and when you rehydrate it a little goes a long way!)

2 Japanese cucumbers

1 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon slivered fresh gingerroot, carrot, and sesame seeds (optional)

1. Stir the vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce together until the sugar is dissolved.
   Refrigerate this dressing until needed, up to 3 or 4 days.
2. Cover and soak the wakame in cold water until it softens, about 5 minutes.
3. While the wakame is soaking, slice the cucumbers into very thin rounds, using a mandoline or a sharp knife.
4. Drain the wakame and set it aside briefly.
5. 
   Soak the sliced cucumbers in the water seasoned with the salt for 5 minutes. 
   Soaking the cucumbers softens them so that they absorb the rice vinegar dressing.
6. Drain the cucumbers, gently squeezing out any excess moisture.
7. Toss the softened wakame and cucumbers with one-fourth of the dressing.
8. Place on a bed of cooked brown rice.
9. Drizzle over a little more dressing and garnish with slivered gingerroot, carrot, and sesame seeds if desired.
   Serve chilled or at room temperature.