Cold cucumber salad recipe
The easy Chinese cold cucumber salad recipe is delicious and full of spicy flavor. Best of all, it only requires 4-ingredients and takes 5-10 minutes to make.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 114kcal
Equipment
- Tuppleware container with airtight lock
- Knife and cutting board
Ingredients
- 2 cucumbers Smacked then cut into approximately ½ inch (1cm) cubes Choose cucumbers with small seeds such as Persian cucumbers or Japanese cucumbers.
- 3 Tablespoons Lao Gan Ma chilli oil You can use more chilli oil if you like. Try to scoop up some of the peanuts etc too so that the salad will have contrasting textures. Substitute: Lee Kum Kee chilli oil or homemade
- 1 Tablespoon light soy sauce Different soy sauce brands have different salt levels, so taste your dressing first. If it's not salty enough, add a pinch of salt.
- 1 Tablespoon ChinKiang vinegar Also known as Zhejiang vinegar. Substitute: balsamic vinegar (but only if you really can't get the black Chinese vinegar.)
- Drizzle sesame oil optional
- Pinch white granulated sugar optional (I find the salad tasty without the sugar but those with sweeter teeth may appreciate it)
- sesame oil, lightly toasted sesame seeds or spring onions optional garnishes
Instructions
- Smack and cut the cucumbers into small cubes. Place in a tuppleware container with an airtight lock.
- Pour the chilli oil, soy sauce and vinegar pour over the cucumbers. Taste to see if a pinch of salt is needed. If using sugar, now is the time to add.
- Close the container tightly then shake well. Ideally, leave in the fridge for at least 20-minutes so that the cucumbers can absorb the sauce and they're nice and cool. If you don't have the time, you can eat them straightaway as well.
- Drizzle with sesame oil and garnish with coriander etc (if using) just before serving so that the aroma of the oil will be stronger.
Notes
The longer you marinade the cucumbers for, the tastier they'll be.
Substitutes
- Do not substitute with dark soy sauce, sweet soy sauce or thick soy sauce- they are not the same thing!
- Garlicky cucumber salad: If you like garlic, you can add minced garlic. However, be sure not to keep the cucumber salad in the fridge for for too long as there is a risk of botulism when infusing garlic in oil
- Spicy jellyfish cucumber salad: you can mix this recipe with marinated jellyfish which are sold ready-to-eat (or sometimes sold frozen) at many Chinese supermarkets.
Nutrition
Calories: 114kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Sodium: 255mg | Potassium: 214mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 108IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 0.5mg