The Best Chinese Cucumber Salad is Smashed (拍黄瓜)
Directions
- 1Smash the cucumbers with a Cleaver, rolling pin, meat tenderizer, or your fist until they start to split along the length.
- 2Cut the smashed cucumber diagonally into 2-inch long pieces.
- 3Season the cucumber with 3/4 teaspoon of salt.
- 4Toss the cucumber thoroughly with salt and set aside for 15 minutes.
- 5Grate two cloves of garlic finely.
- 6Dice a little bit of cilantro.
- 7Prepare some diced Thai birdeye chilies (optional).
- 8Add 1 tbsp of soy sauce to the dressing.
- 9Add 1 tbsp of hot chili oil to the dressing (optional).
- 10Add 1 tbsp of vinegar (Chinese black vinegar or apple cider vinegar) to the dressing.
- 11Add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar to the dressing.
- 12Add 1 teaspoon of sesame oil to the dressing.
- 13Lightly squeeze the salted cucumber to discard excess liquid.
- 14Mix the cucumber with the prepared dressing and toss thoroughly.
Ingredients
- mini or long skinny cucumber
- 0.75 tsp salt
- 2 cloves garlic
- cilantro
- diced Thai birdeye chilies
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp hot chili oil
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 0.5 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Equipment
Cleaverrolling pinmeat tenderizerknife set
Tips
- Smashing cucumbers creates lots of bruises which allows the seasoning to infuse into the cucumber.
- If using a fatter kind of cucumber, remove the seeds first.
- Do not use too much raw garlic, two cloves are plenty, otherwise it will overpower the fresh taste of the cucumber.
- If you don't eat spicy food, you can skip the chilies and chili oil.
- You can use apple cider vinegar as a substitute for Chinese black vinegar.
- Lightly squeeze and discard the excess liquid from the cucumbers after salting to prevent diluting the seasoning.
- To prepare ahead of time, keep the cucumber and dressing separate in the fridge and mix right before serving.
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