Skip to main content
Epicurious
Cookbooks

Chineasy Cucumber Salad

4.6

(9)

Image may contain Plant Food Produce Vegetable Pottery Vase and Jar
Photo by Gabriele Stabile

Recipe information

  • Yield

    2 servings

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Chinkiang vinegar
1 teaspoon Sichuan chili oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon turbinado sugar
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
3 Persian or Kirby cucumbers or 1 English cucumber
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons roasted unsalted peanuts, crushed
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Whisk together the vinegar, chili oil, sesame oil, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl until the sugar dissolves. Set the dressing aside.

    Step 2

    Halve the cucumbers lengthwise. (If using English cucumbers, remove the seeds with a small spoon and discard.) Set them cut-side down on a cutting board and lightly smash them: Give them a couple angry thwaps with the side of a cleaver (or a large chef’s knife) until the cucumbers crack in a few places. (For less drama, just press down on them with the side of the knife.) Cut the abused cucumbers crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick half-moons.

    Step 3

    Toss the cucumbers in the dressing, portion them out onto plates, and top each serving with sesame seeds, peanuts, and cilantro.

Image may contain: Dinner, Food, Supper, Meal, Egg, and Roast
Reprinted from Lucky Peach Presents: 101 Easy Asian Recipes. Copyright © 2015 by Lucky Peach, LLC. Photos by Gabriele Stabile. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.
TagsSaladChineseEast AsianAsianCucumberVegetablePeanutNutSideLunchDinnerDairy FreeGluten FreeVeganVegetarianKetoEasyQuickNo-CookLunar New YearCookbooks

See Related Recipes and Cooking Tips

Read More
Crispy Oyster Mushroom Skewers With Bok Choy Salad
Oyster mushrooms are a strong all-rounder in the kitchen, seeming to straddle both plant and meat worlds in what they look and taste like when cooked. Here they’re coated in a marinade my mother used to use when cooking Chinese food at home—honey, soy, garlic and ginger—and roasted until golden, crisp, and juicy.
Zucchini, Pea, and Bulgur Pilaf
This fragrant salad uses bulgur wheat as its base, an endlessly versatile, slightly chewy grain that’s very popular throughout the eastern Mediterranean.
Yogurt and Cucumber Soup
This luscious chilled yogurt soup, packed with fresh and dried mint, is an incredibly refreshing and cooling appetizer during the summer.
Kimchi Gim Bugak (Fried Seaweed Chips)
Bugak is the ideal light beer snack: It’s crunchy, salty, and the fresher it’s made, the better. Thin sheets of kimchi add an extra spicy savory layer.
Eggplant Roasted in Satay Sauce
Among the top tier of sauces is Indonesian satay sauce, because it is the embodiment of joy and life. In fact, this sauce is also trustworthy and highly respectful of whatever it comes into contact with—perhaps it is, in fact, the perfect friend?
Zaru Soba (Cold Buckwheat Noodles)
Cool off with this easy zaru soba recipe: a Japanese dish of chewy buckwheat noodles served with chilled mentsuyu dipping sauce, daikon, nori, and scallions.
Kung Pao Cabbage With Tofu
Reliable cabbage is cooked in the punchy sauce and then combined with store-bought baked tofu and roasted cashews for a salad that can also be eaten with rice.
Fufu
Fufu is a dish that has been passed down through many generations and is seen as a symbol of Ghanaian identity and heritage. Making fufu traditionally is a very laborious task; this recipe mimics some of that hard work but with a few home-cook hacks that make for a far easier time.