Smacked Cucumber with Chilli Oil

Smacked Cucumber with Chilli Oil is a refreshing, flavour-packed salad based on a Chinese classic.

Smacking or smashing the cucumber gives more surface area to be cloaked in the salty, sweet, hot and sour dressing.

Flavoured with soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic and a final flourish of chilli oil, the dish is ready in 10-20 minutes.

Serve as a side to almost any Chinese-inspired dish.

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I’ve been meaning to add this simple but delightful recipe for Smacked Cucumber with Chilli Oil for a while now.

It’s appeared on my table in various guises, e.g. with or without onion, chopped chillies instead of chilli oil, a little coriander leaf stirred in.

But it was the arrival in my Moorland Veg Box delivery of the first English cucumbers of the season that finally prompted me to post this fantastic little dish.

Although you can use any cucumber, I think you’ll notice the difference with a quality one like this. Organic and plastic-free, it was super-crunchy and with no sign of bitterness.

If you’re lucky enough to find mini cucumbers, or have homegrown ones, then this recipe would be perfect for those too.

SMACKING YOUR CUCUMBER

If the concept of smacking a cucumber is new to you, it might seem like a rather strange thing to do. Or perhaps you thought it was a euphemism for something rude?

But it’s actually eminently sensible.

Breaking up the cucumber by hitting it with the flat side of a cleaver, heavy knife, or rolling pin gives you more surface area. And the more nooks and crannies, the more the sweet, salty, hot, and sour dressing will be able to permeate the cucumber.

After bashing it you might find the cucumber has naturally split into four lengths. If not, cut it like that, then slice each length into bite-size pieces.

At this point, I take the opportunity to get rid of some of the seeds which could make the dish watery.

Speaking of which, an optional but highly recommended next step is to salt the cucumber for ten minutes.

This will draw out more moisture which might otherwise dilute that amazing but simple dressing.

THE DRESSING

In the detailed recipe card at the end of the post, I’ve given suggested amounts for each ingredient in the dressing.

But I think you really need to treat these as a guide only and taste as you go.

What you’re ultimately aiming for is a satisfying balance between the elements.

The dressing should be:

• salty from soy sauce plus a little salt if necessary
• sweet with the addition of sugar
• hot from the chilli oil you’ll add later
• sour thanks to rice vinegar (ordinary clear, or black/Chinkiang)

SMACKED CUCUMBER WITH CHILLI OIL

Before you dress the cucumber, dry it on kitchen paper then toss with a good amount of chopped garlic.

I recommend you don’t add the dressing until shortly before you’re going to eat.

Otherwise, the salty dressing might draw out more water from the cucumber. This is especially important if you decided to skip salting the cucumber.

I always keep a jar of toasted black and white sesame seeds in the cupboard and sprinkle some of these over.

Finally, the cucumber is doused with chilli oil for a real kick.

My absolute current favourite is crispy chilli in oil, sometimes called chilli crisp. I love the crunchy little bits of flaked chilli and garlic.

The brand I buy is Lao Gan Ma which, despite appearances, isn’t fiercely hot. This means I spoon plenty over the cucumber.

But use your own favourite chilli oil, adding as much or as little as you like.

I think Smacked Cucumber with Chilli Oil is a great side to almost any Chinese-inspired dishes.

Its flavour-packed crunch is perfect alongside meat, fish, eggs, or other vegetables.

For super-quick light meal, try it with eggs scrambled with tomatoes, spring onion and a little Shaoxing Chinese cooking wine.

If you’ve made this dish, I’d love to know what you thought.

Leave a comment below and don’t forget to rate the recipe!

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Smacked Cucumber with Chilli Oil

A refreshing salad based on a Chinese classic.

Smacking and breaking open the cucumber gives more surface area to be cloaked in the punchy dressing and chilli oil.

Course Side Dish, Salad

Cuisine Chinese

Keyword salad

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 0 minutes

Salting time (optional) 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 2 as a side dish

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

• 1 large cucumber approx 300g in total if using small cucumbers
• salt
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped or grated
• 2 tsp toasted black and white sesame seeds
• ½-1 tbsp chilli oil crispy chilli in oil highly recommended

Dressing

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1½ tsp rice vinegar regular or black Chinkiang
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1-2 tsp sugar
• 1 pinch salt optional

Instructions

1. Trim the ends of the cucumber and discard.

   Take a cleaver, heavy knife or rolling pin and firmly hit the cucumber along its length so that it breaks open.

   If it hasn't naturally broken into 4 lengths, cut it so.

   Slice each length into bite sized pieces, removing and discarding most of the seeds.

2. Optional but recommended step to draw out some of the water:

   Put the cucumber pieces in a sieve or colander over a bowl.

   Sprinkle lightly with salt, toss, then leave to drain for 10 minutes.

3. Make the dressing by stirring all the dressing ingredients together.

   Taste and add more of any ingredient if necessary: it should taste salty, sweet and sour.

4. Dry the cucumber on kitchen paper then transfer to a serving bowl.

   Toss with the chopped garlic.

5. Just before serving, toss with the dressing and toasted sesame seeds.

   Drizzle or spoon over the chilli oil and serve.

   Best eaten as soon as possible on the day of making, although can be kept in the fridge for 2 days.

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