In case you love cucumbers, and even when you don’t, you need to do this Asian cucumber salad recipe! Smashing is important to the making and consuming expertise – it creates crevices for the chunky chilli dressing to nestle in. The right mixture of refreshing and firecracker warmth. OBSESSED!
Spicy cucumber salad
Everyone who is aware of me is aware of that I turn out to be obsessive about shiny new toys and proper now, that shiny new toy is Spicy Cucumber Salad. I’ve been making and consuming it obsessively for weeks, generally as a meal, defensively utilizing recipe checking as an excuse every time somebody commented on the presence of yet one more tub of this in my fridge.
It’s fast to make. An addictive mixture of refreshing cucumber with a spicy in-your-face dressing balanced with a beneficiant handful of inexperienced onion and eschallots.
I can’t wait so that you can turn out to be as obsessed as me. Let’s be defensive about our obsession collectively!
Terrified of the chilli? Make Smashed Cucumbers with ginger sauce as a substitute!
This cucumber smashing enterprise
Cucumbers are slippery suckers. Dressing simply doesn’t persist with it.
Which is why Asians are so keen on smashing cucumbers. Bash them with a meat mallet, rolling pin or different such heavy object in order that they burst open a bit. This creates splits and crevices for dressing and different salad add-ins (like inexperienced onions, sesame seeds) and so on to nestle in. Which suggests extra flavour in each chunk. Plus you may salt them which attracts extra water out which dilutes flavour while you eat them.
It’s an amazing approach. It’s efficient for consuming expertise, and it’s fantastically therapeutic. Come house after a foul day at work and bash away!
Elements in Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad
Chilli crisp!
We’re welcoming again our outdated pal chilli crisp that I do know you dashed out to get to make the Chilli Crisp Noodles from a number of weeks in the past. 😂 Provides nice crunch from crispy chilli bits, brilliant purple chilli oil and savoury flavour that every one comes free within the jar – particularly when you get the worldwide favorite Laoganma Crispy Chilli Oil which is well-liked for good cause. (Pictured beneath)
Spiciness – Surprisingly not that spicy, it appears to be like much more fierce than it really is! I can eat (small-ish) spoonfuls of it straight out of the jar.
Discover Laoganma Crispy Chilli Oil within the Asian aisle of enormous grocery shops (Aus: Woolies), else in Asian shops, and skim extra about this addictive paste within the Chilli Crisp Noodles. To not be confused with different chilli sauces made by this model and comparable, like Spicy Chilli Oil, Sizzling Chilli Sauce, Sizzling Chilli Oil. Search for the phrase CRISP or CRISPY or CRUNCH!
Different chilli crisp manufacturers – There’s lots on the market, mass produced and boutique ones. Offered below varied names however all akin to comparable that means – crispy chilli oil, chilli crunch, crunchy chilli oil, and simply plainly “chilli crisp”. Additionally bear in mind within the States, chilli is spelt with one “l” – chili.
The salad issues
Right here’s what you want for the salad half:
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Cucumbers – Use 4 cucumbers round 19 – 20cm / 7-8″ lengthy. Scale up or down if yours are bigger or smaller. I take advantage of 4 of what we name Lebanese cucumbers right here in Australia (pictured) or 2 longer English / telegraph cucumbers that are round 30cm/1 foot lengthy.
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Eschallot / French onion – Known as shallots within the US, these child onions should not as harsh onion-y and finer than common onions. I discover them a ache to peel – as a result of they’ve advantageous, papery pores and skin – so typically attempt to keep away from them until I actually do assume it makes a dish higher. In immediately’s case, I like them as a result of a) we use them uncooked and b) they flop higher slightly than being all pokey. Substitute with purple onion however slice them additional finely. Perhaps use a mandolin.
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Inexperienced onion – For extra freshness within the salad. With all of the cucumber freshness and the daring spicy sauce, this salad can can take it. It needs it!
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Sesame seeds – Tossed into the salad for additional sesame goodness.
The dressing
And right here’s all you want for the quite simple dressing. As a result of the chilli crisp does a lot of the flavour heavy lifting right here – it has garlic, salt, sugar, oil!
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Sesame oil – For stunning sesame flavour. Use toasted sesame oil – it’s brown and has extra flavour than untoasted (which is yellow). Default sesame oil offered in Australia is toasted, untoasted is tougher to search out.
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Rice vinegar – As a result of it’s an Asian salad, we’re utilizing an Asian vinegar right here which is milder than most western vinegars. Nonetheless, any clear vinegar may be substituted in a pinch as a result of this isn’t a main ingredient – strange white vinegar, apple cider, champagne vinegar and so on.
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Soy sauce – The salt within the dressing. Use an all-purpose one or mild soy sauce. Don’t use darkish soy sauce (too sturdy) or candy soy sauce (too candy).
How one can make Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad
Tremendous easy – smash cucumber, salt it (attracts out water that dilutes flavour), toss with 3 ingredient dressing and as a lot chilli crisp as you dare!
Smash and salt
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Smashing – Hit the cucumber with a meat mallet, rolling pin, hammer or comparable and relish within the stress reduction or just benefit from the enjoyable issue. Hit exhausting sufficient to make them break up open down the perimeters however not so exhausting you squish them into mush.
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Reduce the cucumber lengthwise down the center then into 2.4cm/1″ items.
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Salt half-hour – Put them in a bowl then toss with salt. Depart for half-hour. The salt will draw out water from the cucumbers which dilutes flavour while you eat them. It additionally seasons the cucumbers all the way in which although.
We’re solely utilizing 3/4 teaspoon salt right here and also you’ll be shocked how efficient that is for the quantity of cucumber we’re utilizing.
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Drain and discard the cucumber water from the bowl (too salty to re-use for an additional function). Use a colander if you wish to be thorough else simply drain it out of the bowl, utilizing your hand to carry the cucumbers in.
Gown & toss
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Dressing – Whisk the soy sauce, sesame oil and vinegar in a bowl till it combines correctly. You’ll know as a result of it turns into murky and thicker, slightly than clear and break up.
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Gown – Add inexperienced onion, eschallots, sesame and dressing in a bowl.
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CHILLI CRISP! Add 2 tablespoons of chilli crisp – or extra when you dare! You need to get a mound of the crispy chilli – it is going to be nicely soaked with the purple chilli oil that colors this salad. You’ll be able to all the time add extra after you toss. Style and add, style and add!
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Toss nicely till the eschalots turn out to be floppy. Then pile up excessive right into a shallow bowl and serve!
Eat with spoon
You’ll discover that the longer this salad sits round, the extra water is drawn out of the cucumbers. So a number of hours after making / the subsequent day, it appears to be like just like the above.
So, my uncommon consuming recommendation for this salad is as follows:
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Freshly made – The dressing is extra intense flavoured and coats / will get caught within the cucumber crevices higher, much less/little pooled on plate. Serve and eat with fork.
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After few hours / subsequent day – Dressing is diluted from additional water drawn out of the cucumbers. It’s not watery and flavourless, however it’s not as intense as when freshly made. So eat with a spoon like soup to get loads of dressing in every mouthful. It’s so good!
Take pleasure in! – Nagi x
Watch tips on how to make it
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Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad
Prep: 7 minutes
Salting time: 30 minutes
Complete: 37 minutes
Aspect Dish
Asian, Chinese language
Servings4 as a aspect
Faucet or hover to scale
Directions
Smash & salt cucumbers
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Smash – Hit cucumbers with a meat mallet, rolling pin or just like make the perimeters burst open. Reduce in half lengthwise then into 2.5cm/1″ items.
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Salt 30 min – Place in a bowl, toss with salt. Put aside for half-hour to attract out water (Observe 5). Drain/pressure and discard salty water, go away cucumbers in similar bowl.
Salad
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Whisk Dressing in a bowl.
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CHECK spiciness of your chilli crisp – they range by model. If utilizing Laoganma, stick to recipe, else modify to style.
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Toss – Put inexperienced onion, eschalots, sesame seeds, dressing and chilli crisp in with the cucumbers. Toss till eschalots go floppy – ~30 seconds.
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Serve, sprinkled with additional sesame seeds and dollops of chilli crisp when you dare!
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Observe: Water continues to return out of cucumbers so after few hours/subsequent day, you will have much more dressing however not as intense flavoured. So eat/serve with spoon to get loads of dressing in each chunk!
Recipe Notes:
2. Eschalot/French onion – Known as shallots within the US, not as hash onion-y as common onions and extra delicate in order that they flop and meld higher. Sub with 1/s small purple onion sliced additional finely.
3. Chilli crisp – Laoganma is the worldwide favorite, offered in massive grocery shops in addition to Asian shops. It’s really not that spicy, it’s extra in regards to the crunchy chilli and salty/candy flavour.
Loads of different manufacturers – search for (Asian) jars with the phrase CRISPY, CRUNCHY or CRUNCH in it! Tres fashionable within the Western world (I’m late to the occasion). Use leftovers for Chilli Crisp Noodles!
4. Soy sauce – All function or mild soy. Not darkish (too intense) or candy (too…candy!).
5. Smashing/salting – Attracts extra water out of cucumbers than makes flavour watery.
6. Leftovers good for twenty-four hours, after this the cucumbers go a bit of too smooth for my style.
Diet per serving, assuming 4 servings as a aspect.
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