Soaked up in a delicious marinade, this Seafood Salad is composed of succulent shrimp, delicate octopus, and colorful vegetables. It’s a perfect meal prep dish as it is easy to make. All comes together in less than 30 minutes, and you can keep it for the week ahead! 

Seafood Salad with Vinaigrette

INGREDIENTS

• 6 oz shrimp (with shell)
• 4 oz boiled octopus
• 1 stalk celery
• ¼ yellow bell pepper
• ¼ red bell pepper
• ¼ red onion
• 2 inch carrot (5 cm)
• 2 radishes
• 6 cherry tomatoes
• 2 sprigs parsley
• ½ lemon
• 1 bay leaf

To cook shrimp

• ⅓ cup sake (I used Sho Chiku Bai Classic Junmai)

Marinade

• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup rice vinegar
• 2 Tbsp mirin (I used Takara Mirin)
• 1 tsp kosher/sea salt (use half for table salt)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• ½ Tbsp juice from cooking shrimp

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Gather all the ingredients.
   

To Prepare Shrimp

1. Devein shrimp if not done so already. Keep the shell on while cooking so the flavors will be kept inside the shell. Sprinkle some potato or corn starch and coat the shrimp. It will absorb the smell and dirty particles from the shrimp. Rinse the shrimp under running water.
2. Add ⅓ cup sake in the frying pan and bring it to a boil.
3. Add the shrimp in a single layer and cover the lid.
4. Cook for 2-3 minutes depending on the size. Turn over half way.
5. Once the shrimp is no longer opaque, take it out on a plate and let cool. Save the remaining juice from cooking shrimp in a bowl.

To Make the Marinade

1. Combine ½ cup olive oil, ¼ cup rice vinegar, 2 Tbsp mirin, 1 tsp salt, freshly ground black pepper, and ½ Tbsp juice from cooking shrimp. Whisk well and taste. Adjust with salt if necessary. Set aside.

To Prepare the Rest of Ingredients

1. Thinly slice the boiled octopus as much as you can so it’s less chewy. Cut the celery into smaller pieces.
2. Cut the bell peppers into smaller pieces. I like to use Japanese “rangiri” cutting style where you cut the vegetables diagonally as you rotate them 90 degrees. This creates a more unique and random cut, creating more surface space.
3. Thinly slice the red onion and carrot. And cut the thin slabs of carrot into halves.
4. Thinly slice the red radishes and cut the cherry tomatoes in halves.
5. Mince the parsley and thinly slice the lemon.
6. Shrimp must be cool by now. Peel the shell and remove the tails.

To Assemble

1. Place all the ingredients in a container (I use an 8 x 8 inch baking dish). Add a bay leaf, sprinkle chopped parsley, and place the lemon slices.
2. Pour the marinade all over the ingredients.

To Store and Serve

1. Cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Serve chilled.  To use it as your meal prep menu, the salad can be stored up to two days. 
   

https://www.justonecookbook.com/seafood-salad/