SALAD WITH CHINESE CUCUMBERS
Simple and delicious, this Chinese Cucumber Salad has a light garlic flavor that is well-balanced with salt and rice vinegar. The secret is to produce a mild garlic oil and a little bit of raw garlic!
WHAT’S DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS CUCUMBER SALAD?
Chinese cucumber salads are trendy these days. Smashed, diced, salted, chili oil-ed, and vinegar-ed are a terrific alternative for easy summer dinners, as an appetizer, or paired with bowls of noodles for an easy vegetable.
The flavors for a cucumber salad are generally robust and spicy. You can make this Garlic Cucumber Salad for a milder flavor than my mom’s fiery Smashed Asian Cucumber Salad, which is full of raw garlic, chile oil, soy sauce, and cilantro.
INGREDIENTS:
- 6 cloves of garlic(paste-like texture)
- 3 tbsp. of oil
- 2 pcs. of English cucumbers
- 1 1/2 tsp. of salt or salt to taste
- 1 tbsp. of sugar
- 1/8 tsp. of MSG (optional)
- 1/4 tsp. of sesame oil
- 1 tbsp. of rice vinegar
INSTRUCTIONS:
- To begin, peel and chop the garlic. When you’ve minced all of the garlic, save the equivalent of one clove for later use.
- Stir the oil and remaining garlic in a small saucepan and heat to a simmer over medium-low heat—Cook for about two to three minutes. Foam will form when the garlic’s water escapes. Garlic should not be allowed to brown. About two minutes are needed for this procedure. Allow cooling after removing from the heat.
- Slice the cucumbers in half lengthwise and then into 1-inch slices. Serve in a bowl with Sesame oil, rice vinegar, garlic oil, salt, sugar, and MSG, if desired. Add the minced raw garlic that was set aside at the end. Coat everything in the mixture thoroughly before serving.
- Allow at least 20 minutes for the flavors to blend in the refrigerator for optimal results.