Crunchy Chinese Cucumber Salad
From: tigerduck

A lovely crunchy salad which takes a bit more time than a simple cucumber salad, but it's really worth it! Goes well as a starter or a side dish with a chinese meal.

SERVES 2 -4

Dressing

• 1 teaspoon cooking oil
• 1 big mild chili pepper, deseeded, sliced into rings (or a small hot chilli finely chopped)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons dark rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon white wine
• 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Cucumber

• 1 cucumber (ca 350g/12ounces, unpeeled)
• 150 ml hot water
• 1/2 tablespoon salt

Preparation of cucumber:.

Half washed but unpeeled cucumber lengthwise. Remove the seeds with a spoon and discard. Slice into ca 1/2 cm / 1/5 inch pieces. Put into a bowl.

Mix hot water and salt and pour it over the cucumber pieces. Leave cucumbers in water for ca 20 minutes.

Dressing:.

Heat oil in a medium skillet.

Add chilli and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients of the dressing until the sesame oil. Cook for 2 minutes.

Add garlic and sesame. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Put aside.

Finish Salad:.

Drain the cucumber pieces (after the 20 minutes in the water) and squeeze them slightly. Mix with the dressing (I do this in the skillet and put salad afterwards into a bowl) and leave the salad for 2 hours to develop its flavour.

Serve as a starter or as a side dish to a chinese meal.