Photo: Claudia Concas
Cucumber: 3
Garlic: 2 cloves
Rice vinegar: 5ml/0.17 fl oz
Soy sauce: 10ml/0.35 fl oz
Red pepper flakes: 5g/0.17 oz
Caster sugar: 5g/0.17 oz
Sesame oil: 10 ml/0.35 fl oz
White sesame
Salt
Discover the recipe for smashed cucumber salad, a typical Chinese dish.
The smashed cucumber salad is a fresh and delicious recipe, the perfect side dish for fish or meat dishes, but also a unique veggie dish with an unforgettable flavour. Preparing cucumbers this way will give these vegetables a completely different flavour than when they are cut in the traditional style. The intense cucumber taste will be amplified and balanced by the marinade that you can lengthen depending on the intensity you want to achieve. Discover all the steps in this simple recipe.
Method
Wash the cucumbers well and trim them. Then cut them in half lengthwise.
Arrange the cucumbers on the cutting board with the cut side facing the top. With the blade of the knife (not cutting) mash the cucumbers.
At this point, cut the cucumbers into diamond shapes.
Place the cucumbers in a bowl and season with salt. The salt will remove part of the cucumber water and concentrate its taste. Mix the cucumbers with your hands and let them rest for 10 minutes. Then drain them from the excess water.
Prepare the dressing. Grate the garlic and add the rice vinegar. Stir and leave to flavour for a few minutes.
Add the soy sauce, chilli, sugar and sesame oil. Mix the sauce well and season the cucumbers.
Mix well to mix the sauce and decorate with white sesame, which will also give a very pleasant crunchy note.
Which cucumber is best?
Most cucumbers are versatile enough for this simple recipe, particularly English cucumbers, which offer a great crunch and sweet skin. For more on different types of cucumbers and when best to use them, see this article.
Recipe variations
More often than not eaten with limp salad leaves and a few chunks of tomato, there’s much more to cucumbers than you might think. Cucumbers lend themselves well to Asian flavours and are great paired with sesame in particular. Here are a few unusual cucumber recipe ideas to get your juices flowing.
This recipe was updated on 10/10/2023.
