Tako su is a Japanese octopus salad with fresh cucumber slices and wakame seaweed tossed in a sweet and tangy vinaigrette dressing. A perfect appetizer to accompany any meal.
What is tako su, also known as Japanese octopus salad?
In Japanese, “tako” means octopus and “su” means vinegar so the literal translation for this dish is “octopus vinegar”.
Tako su is a Japanese salad with octopus, cucumber and wakame tossed in a sweet and tangy vinegary dressing. It’s a popular Japanese dish served as an appetizer or side dish.
Our version is a healthier sugar-free version using a sweetener and sugar-free rice vinegar making it a low carb, keto friendly and low calorie dish.
What is tako?
In Japanese, “tako” means octopus so when you hear Japanese dishes that start with “tako” such as takoyaki, chances are it contains octopus. Some popular Japanese foods that contain octopus include:
- Sushi – boiled and placed over rice.
- Sashimi – eaten raw dipped in wasabi and soy sauce.
- Oden – a hot pot with various ingredients.
- Smoked – served as a popular Japanese snack at bars and lounges. It is marinated in sweetened vinegar and lightly smoked.
- Takoyaki – a piece of octopus in a batter cooked inside a cast iron grill.
What ingredients do I need and how do you make tako su?
- Octopus – boiled and sashimi grade. Can be found at Japanese supermarkets or Seafood markets.
- Cucumber – use cucumbers that are firm and crunchy such as Persian or kyuri (Japanese cucumber).
- Seaweed – dried wakame rehydrated in water. Found in Japanese supermarkets.
- Rice Vinegar – made from fermented rice and not interchangeable with white vinegar. Rice vinegar is a little sweet and tangy while white vinegar is very strong and sour.
- Sweetener – to keep this recipe sugar-free, we use a monkfruit erythritol blend. It is low carb, keto friendly and has 0 calories. Feel free to use your preferred sweetener or regular cane sugar.
- Soy Sauce – low sodium preferred.
- Toasted Sesame Seeds – toasted sesame seeds are found in most Asian supermarkets.
We start by cutting sashimi ready tako and salted cucumbers into bite size pieces. Re-hydrated dried seaweed in a bowl of water and mix together with the octopus and cucumbers.
Next, make the vinaigrette dressing by combing rice vinegar, sweetener, and soy sauce in a bowl. When ready to serve, drizzle dressing and top and sprinkle toasted sesame seeds.
Is the octopus in tako su raw?
Octopus in tako su is not raw. It is boiled and fully cooked. You usually can find pre-boiled octopus ready for use in Japanese or Asian supermarkets.
What is the nutrition information for this octopus salad recipe?
- 56 Calories
- 2g Carbohydrates
- 1g Fiber
- 9g Protein
- 1g Fat
- 27mg Cholesterol
- 796mg Sodium
- 198mg Potassium
- 40mg Calcium
- 3mg Iron
- 85ui Vitamin A
- 3mg Vitamin C
Looking for other Japanese side dish recipes?
- Homemade Hawaiian Style Ahi Poke
- Japanese Sunomono Cucumber Salad
- Hot Japanese Tofu Yudofu
- Dynamite Mayo Shrimp
- Soy Glazed Asparagus Beef Roll Ups
Now, let’s get making this Japanese Octopus Salad Tako Su recipe!
- Prepping Time 5M
- Total Time 5M
- Net Carb/Serv ~2g
- Servings 2
Ingredients
- 1/4 lbs Sashimi Ready Boiled Octopus
- 1 Persian or Japanese Cucumbers
- 1 tbsp Dried Seaweed
- 2 tbsp Rice Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Sweetener (Monkfruit Erythritol Blend, sugar or sweetener of choice)
- 1/2 tsp Soy Sauce
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Sesame Seed
Directions
1) Gather all the ingredients.
2) Fill a bowl of water and add the Dried Seaweed. This step is to re-hydrate the Dried Seaweed and should take around 5 minutes.
3) In the meantime, in a small fry pan add sweetener and Rice Vinegar and bring to a light boil. Once boiling, transfer liquid into a mixing bowl and combine well with Soy Sauce and Sesame Seeds. Set aside.
4) With a vegetable peeler, peel the skin off the cucumbers every other stroke. Pour 1/2 tsp of salt into the palm of your hands and rub the salt onto the cucumber.
5) Cut the cucumbers into 1/4 inch slices and place into mixing bowl. Note – we cut them diagonally, but you can cut them however you like.
6) Use a paper towel to pat at any excess moisture from the boiled octopus. Thinly cut octopus 1/4 inch slices and place into mixing bowl.
7) Once seaweed is re-hydrated, squeeze excess water from the seaweed and add into the mixing bowl. Mix all ingredients to ensure even coating of vinaigrette dressing, saran wrap and keep refrigerated until ready to serve (best to served 20-40 min after).
Hope you enjoy your Japanese Octopus Salad Tako Su!
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Japanese Octopus Salad Tako Su
Ingredients
- 1/4 lbs Octopus Sashimi Ready Boiled
- 1 Whole Cucumbers Persian or Japanese
- 1 tbsp Dried Seaweed
- 2 tbsp Rice Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Sweetener monkfruit erythritol blend, sugar or sweetener of choice
- 1/2 tsp Soy Sauce
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Sesame Seed
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Fill a bowl of water and add the Dried Seaweed. This step is to re-hydrate the Dried Seaweed and should take around 5 minutes.
- In the meantime, in a small fry pan add Rice Vinegar and sweetener and bring to a light boil. Once boiling, transfer into a mixing bowl and combine with Soy Sauce and Sesame Seeds. Set aside.
- With a vegetable peeler, peel the skin off the cucumbers every other stroke. Pour 1/2 tsp of salt into the palm of your hands and rub the salt onto the cucumber.
- Cut the cucumbers into 1/4 inch slices and place into mixing bowl. Note - we cut them diagonally, but you can cut them however you like.
- Use a paper towel to pat at any excess moisture from the boiled octopus. Thinly cut octopus 1/4 inch slices and place into mixing bowl.
- Once seaweed is re-hydrated, squeeze excess water from the seaweed and add into the mixing bowl. Mix all ingredients to ensure even coating of vinaigrette dressing, saran wrap and keep refrigerated until ready to serve (best to served 20-40 min after).
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Nutrition
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