Crunchy Chinese Cucumber Salad

Submitted by tigerduck

"A lovely crunchy salad which takes a bit more time than a simple cucumber salad, but it's really worth it! Goes well as a starter or a side dish with a chinese meal. Cooking time includes leaving the cucumbers in salted water for 20 minutes and standing time (to develop the flavour of the salad) of 2 hours."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs 40mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 2-4

ingredients

• Dressing

• 1 teaspoon cooking oil
• 1 big mild chili pepper, deseeded, sliced into rings (or a small hot chilli finely chopped)
• 1 1⁄2 tablespoons sugar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons dark rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon white wine
• 1⁄2 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1⁄2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

• Cucumber

• 1 cucumber (ca 350g/12ounces, unpeeled)
• 150 ml hot water
• 1⁄2 tablespoon salt

directions

1. Preparation of cucumber:

2. Half washed but unpeeled cucumber lengthwise. Remove the seeds with a spoon and discard. Slice into ca 1/2 cm / 1/5 inch pieces. Put into a bowl.
3. Mix hot water and salt and pour it over the cucumber pieces. Leave cucumbers in water for ca 20 minutes.

4. Dressing:

5. Heat oil in a medium skillet.
6. Add chilli and cook for 1-2 minutes.
7. Add the remaining ingredients of the dressing until the sesame oil. Cook for 2 minutes.
8. Add garlic and sesame. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Put aside.

9. Finish Salad:

10. Drain the cucumber pieces (after the 20 minutes in the water) and squeeze them slightly. Mix with the dressing (I do this in the skillet and put salad afterwards into a bowl) and leave the salad for 2 hours to develop its flavour.
11. Serve as a starter or as a side dish to a chinese meal.

Reviews

[riikkamaria]

Wow! You even can use the leftover dressing for a smaller salad later.

 

[jrusk]

This was very different than any cucumber salad I've had and I loved it! I used a jalapeno (sliced seeds and all) because I always have them on hand. I also used splenda in place of regular sugar. I really enjoyed this...so crunchy and delicious. I thought there were going to be leftovers for me today but db ate them all. I did put the leftover dressing back in the fridge so I can just drizzle it over a salad today. I will make this again.

 

[out of here]

I loved your combination of cucumbers,with all the spicy ingredients.I made this with Shapeweavers Asian Pork and noodle bowl.Went very well together.Thank -you for a nice way to eat cucumbers.Thanks!Rose of Sharon

 

[patti k.]

Yummy cucumbers! I didn't have any chili peppers, so I used crushed red pepper flakes. I also topped it off with crushed peanuts. It was a big hit. Thanks for posting!

 

[Susie D]

Terrific cucumber salad recipe! I love sweet, tart, spicy dishes so this was perfect for me. Thanks tigerduck!