This Smashed Asian Cucumber Salad is a fantastic summertime dish because it is cool and refreshing. A flavorful dressing and garlic and cilantro round out the dish. In addition, the preparation time is only 10 minutes.
Cucumber salad, in Chinese, is a common cold dish or appetizer in Asian cuisine. It’s not only quick and simple to make, but it’s also healthful and full of crunch. When we have cucumbers in the garden, we make this every week. It’s that easy, and it’s so refreshing!
Ingredients:
- 2-4 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
- 2 seedless cucumbers (about 600g)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 3 teaspoons of light soy sauce
- 2 1/2 teaspoons of sugar
- 2 teaspoons of sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons of toasted sesame seeds
- 1-2 teaspoons of chili oil (optional)
- a small handful of chopped cilantro
Instructions:
- Cucumbers should be washed and dried with a clean towel. Prepare the salad dressing by mixing together the salt, sugar, sesame oil, light soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Dissolve the sugar and salt by stirring thoroughly. Dedicate a separate space for.
- Place the cucumber on a cutting board, flat side down, and break it gently with the back of a large knife. The cucumber needs to break open and separate into four pieces. Throughout its entirety, the pattern should be repeated. After slicing the cucumber lengthwise (typically into 4 pieces), cut it at a 45-degree angle into manageable chunks.
- Cucumber, dressing, garlic, and chili oil are all combined in a big bowl and stirred together. Use a good toss. Sprinkling some sesame seeds on top and some chopped cilantro wouldn’t hurt, either.
- You may heat up a spoonful of oil in a pan and sprinkle it over the cucumbers instead of the chili oil if you like. It may seem counterintuitive, but in Chinese cuisine, uncooked and cooked oil are considered qualitatively separate ingredients.