Smashed Cucumber Salad (5 ingredients, Chinese inspired)
Smashing garlic cloves to release the peel is a well worn cook's technique to relieve aggression. The same technique can also be applied to cucumbers for this classic Chinese side dish with just 5 ingredients. It's much easier than slicing cucumbers and creates more surface area for the sauce to stick to.
Servings 4
Calories 21kcal
Equipment
- 1 cutting board
- 1 knife with a large blade to smash the cucumbers
- 1 Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 lb Persian cucumbers (this is about 8 each) or Japanese or English cucumbers
- 1 Tb balsamic vinegar or Chinkiang black vinegar or other vinegar
- ½ tsp salt or 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper or szechuan pepper
- 3 Tb cilantro leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Trim off the stem ends of each cucumber. Lay horizontal on a cutting board and pound with the blade of a knife or mallet. Then chop these long smashed cucumbers into 2 inch pieces.
- Toss smashed cucumbers with vinegar, salt, and pepper. Taste, and add more salt/pepper as needed.
- Garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve immediately or store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
- To avoid flying cucumber splatters, you can put the cucumbers in a plastic bag, and pound over the plastic so they don't fly across the cutting board.
- Salt the cucumbers for 15-30 minutes ahead of time to extract excess moisture and deepen the cucumber flavor.
- Vary the seasoning by using chilis, hot sauce, soy sauce, and/or sugar.