Chinese-Style Smashed Cucumber Salad

I’ve heard it’s the summer of the cucumber salad, so this is how I’ve been eating them.

Chinese-Style Smashed Cucumber Salad

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Resting time: 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 4

Smashing cucumbers is not only therapeutic, it also creates a rough surface for more sauce to cling onto — and how could more sauce be a bad thing?

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 medium sized hot house cucumbers see notes
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp neutral oil like grapeseed, canola, or similar
• 1 green onion thinly sliced, including both the green and white parts
• 3 cloves garlic finely minced
• 1 small bunch fresh cilantro roughly chopped, with stems reserved
• 1/2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns ground in a spice grinder or mortar & pestle
• 3 Tbsp black vinegar
• 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 1.5 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp chili crisp or chili oil
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp sesame seeds optional, for garnish

Instructions

• Using a rolling pin, the side of a cleaver, or a flat bottomed pan, smash your cucumbers. You may need to whack them a couple times until they split. Roughly chop smashed cucumber into bite-sized pieces (about 1"-2"). Place cucumber pieces in a medium sized bowl, sprinkle with salt, and toss. Let sit for 10 minutes to allow the salt to draw out some of the moisture.
  2 medium sized hot house cucumbers, 1 tsp salt
• In the meantime, chop up reserved cilantro stems (optional). Heat neutral oil in a small pot until it starts to "shimmer", then add the green onion, minced garlic, and cilantro stems and cook for 1-2 minutes until the greens are wilted but not browned. Pour the oil mixture into a heatproof bowl to ensure it stops cooking. Set aside.
  3 Tbsp neutral oil, 1 green onion, 3 cloves garlic
• Pour out the water that has collected at the bottom of the cucumbers.
• Pour the aromatic infused oil over the cucumbers. Then, add the remaining ingredients and toss, adding the cilantro last. Taste and add any additional soy sauce, vinegar, or sugar to your liking. Enjoy immediately. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days, but note that the cucumbers will continuously release more liquid.
  1 small bunch fresh cilantro, 1/2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, 3 Tbsp black vinegar, 1 Tbsp rice vinegar, 1.5 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp chili crisp, 2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 1 Tbsp sesame seeds

Notes

• Hot house cucumbers are ideal for this recipe because you don't need to peel them; however, if you can't find any, feel free to sub with smaller Persian cucumbers (you'll just need more of them, about 8-10) or English cucumbers, which need to be peeled.