The Best Chinese Cucumber Salad is Smashed (拍黄瓜)

Name: The Best Chinese Cucumber Salad is Smashed (拍黄瓜)
Total time: 15 min
Cuisine: Chinese
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

15m

Serves 1

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The Best Chinese Cucumber Salad is Smashed (拍黄瓜)

youtube.com

15m

Serves 1

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.