• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

China Sichuan Food

Chinese Recipes and Eating Culture

  • Recipes
    • All Time Popular
    • Sichuan Food
    • Staple| Rice|Noodles
    • Pork
    • Beef & Lamb
    • Chicken & Poultry
    • Fish & Seafood
    • Egg & Dairy
    • Salad & Cold dishes
    • Beverages & Tea
    • Dessert
    • Soup
    • Vegan
    • Vegetarian
  • Pantry
  • Blog
  • About
    • PRIVACY POLICY
  • Video
  • How to
  • Hot Pot
    • Chinese Hot Pot e-Cookbook

Chinese Cucumber Salad–Smashed Version

June 22, 2016 35 Comments

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Chinese smashed cucumber salad with garlic, vinegar and sesame oil. This is one of the most popular homemade cold dishes in China, which only requires 5 minutes from preparation to table.

Chinese smashed cucumber salad

Chinese smashed cucumber salad

Cucumber is really great for summer. The cool and crispy taste can help us against the hot weather. There are many cold dishes in China which equals to salad in western centuries for example Chinese cabbage salad, cucumber salads, spicy chickens salad.

Usually Elaine has two ways of making easy Chinese cucumber salad: one is to smash it directly before mixing and the other one is to pickle the cucumber slices for 1 or 2 hours. Smashed cucumber can absorb more sauce within the cucumber, as a result, having a compound and uniform taste. However pickled cucumber salad has two layers of taste. The first is the combined sauce, succeeded with a crispy and freshness from the cucumber slices.  I strong recommend you trying both ways if you love cucumber salad the same as me. Following is the photo of spicy pickled cucumber salad.

Spicy pickled cucumber salad

For the cucumber, pick fresh ones and just peel the think skin off and remain some thin skins, which can help to add some extra green color and also make the smashed cucumber crisper.  If you really do not like the skin, you can peel them all off. Do remember to cut the two ends off.

Smash the cucumber and then cut into small pieces casually. And then marinate with the sauce. The garlic sauce I introduced today is the most basic and mild version. For a spicy version, you can add some chili oil or add some chopped fresh thai chili peppers.

Chinese Cucumber Salad

Other recommended Chinese style salad for hot summer

  • wood ear mushroom salad–the spicy and sour version I love the most.
  • Bean thread noodles salad with carrots and spinach–a healthy vegan salad
  • Sichuan style eggplant salad with fresh chilis
5 from 5 votes
Print
Chinese Cucumber Salad
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
2 mins
Total Time
7 mins
 
Chinese style smashed cucumber salad
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Sichuan cuisine
Keyword: Cucumber
Servings: 2
Calories: 113 kcal
Author: Elaine
Ingredients
  • 1 fresh English cucumber , or two smaller ones, around 350g
  • 3 garlic cloves , mashed
  • 1 tbsp. black vinegar
  • 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp. sugar
  • 1/2 tbsp. sesame oil
  • salt to taste
  • 1/2 tbsp. chili oil to taste
Instructions
  1. Wash the cucumber and peel off tough skins.
  2. Remove the two ends and smash with a wide kitchen knife (like Chinese slicing knife) until the cucumber is well crushed. Then cut into one bite pieces.
  3. Transfer all cucumber cubes into a bowl. Mix well with mashed garlic and other sauces.
  4. Serve immediately.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

For very tender and young cucumber, you can keep most of the skins.

Nutrition Facts
Chinese Cucumber Salad
Amount Per Serving
Calories 113 Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Fat 7g11%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Sodium 417mg18%
Potassium 287mg8%
Carbohydrates 10g3%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 185IU4%
Vitamin C 7.3mg9%
Calcium 42mg4%
Iron 0.8mg4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Chinese smashed cucumber salad

Chinese smashed cucumber salad

Summer is not easy and wish everyone happy cooking!

Filed Under: Recipes, Salad and cold dishes

« Pan-fried Chinese Buns
Mung Bean (Chinese Green Bean) Soup »

You may also like

pork and mushroom stir fry

Pork and Mushroom Stir Fry

beef wonton filling| chinasichuanfood.com

Beef Wonton

Hoision Pork With steamed buns

Hoisin Pork with Steamed Buns (Gua Bao)

Comments

    Leave a Reply to vivien Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *






    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Jos van wouw says

    May 13, 2018 at 3:53 pm

    Hello Elaine,
    However I am a common Dutchman I like Chinese food and especially the authentic Sichuan kitchen.
    I do not eat meat very often but sometimes the pictures and recipes are mouthwatering and I cannot resist to cook it.
    In the comments for smashed cucumber salad I read about coocked sesame oil. What is the difference between cold pressed oil and coocked oil and how can i make it? Or is is not really nessesary? In Holland Lee Kum Kee sesame oil is easy to buy but I think it is a cold pressed oil and has a rich flavor. I am curious to your reply.

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      May 14, 2018 at 8:30 am

      Hi Jos,
      Cold pressed sesame oil actually contains more nutrient substances with rich flavor of course. However toasted sesame seeds has a unique aroma brought by the heating process. You can smell it from toasted sesame seeds. So most Chinese kitchen use toasted sesame oil.

      Reply
  2. Andreas says

    October 13, 2018 at 4:12 am

    5 stars
    Hi Elaine,

    this is really a quick, easy and tasty side dish. I really love the combination of the black vinegar and sesame oil in the dressing.

    I make this quite often, which might be related to the fact that when I come home from work sometimes smashing things seems like a great idea 🙂 I sincerely apologize to the cucumbers. It’s nothing personal 😉

    anyhow great recipe!

    Reply
  3. Lee says

    April 28, 2019 at 11:11 pm

    5 stars
    Quick and easy and so tasty. Absolutely one of my go to quick sides.

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      May 8, 2019 at 7:04 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  4. Catherine says

    June 20, 2019 at 1:45 am

    5 stars
    This is sooooo good and soooo easy! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      June 21, 2019 at 7:27 am

      Thanks Catherine!

      Reply
      • Lydia says

        July 4, 2020 at 12:33 am

        Elaine,
        This sounds wonderful. I was curious as to the last sauce you add on top of the cucumbers. I do not see this sauce listed in the ingredients. Would you be so kind as to share the sauce you put on top. Thank you so much!
        Lydia

        Reply
        • Elaine says

          July 5, 2020 at 9:27 pm

          It is chili oil, Lydia.

          Reply
  5. vivien says

    May 29, 2020 at 8:26 pm

    Hi, if I can`t finish it, can i keep it in the fridge? and how long can i keep?

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      May 31, 2020 at 5:21 pm

      No, serve just after assembled!

      Reply
« Older Comments

Hi, Welcome!

Please not be limited by site name, as Elaine shares Chinese recipes beyond Sichuan dishes. Know me more from About Page

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe for Updates

Most Popular

Homemade Peking Duck

peking duck| chinasichuanfood.com

Peanut Dumplings (Tang Yuan)

Peanut dumplings (Peanut Tang Yuan) | Chinasichuanfood.com

The Ultimate Guide to Wonton Soup

The ultimate guide to wonton soup

Chinese Pantry

Mei Fun—Rice Noodles

Mei Fun—Rice Noodles

taro balls|chinasichuanfood.com

How to Make Taro Balls

Sichuan sweetened soy sauce|chinasichuanfood.com

Sichuan Sweetened Soy Sauce

pan-fried crispy tofu

How to Pan Fry Tofu

ChinaSichuanFood.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use only images without prior permission. 图片和文字未经授权,禁止转载和使用。

Copyright © 2021 · Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 · Foodie Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in