Easy to make Chinese spicy smashed cucumber salad (拍黄瓜) only needs 5 minutes preparation. This is a light and refreshing cold dish for hot summers, popular on Chinese restaurant menus and in home cooking kitchen.

This is Elaine’s newly upgrade version with the extra step of marinating the cucumber for 10 minutes. Please at least try once and you will find the difference. The marinating process helps to remove the extra water content in cucumber, which has two further functions. The first is to make the cucumber crisper and the second is avoid diluted sauce after mixing with the seasonings. By the way if you love to cucumber salad, do not miss this one too.

Cooking tips before starting off

Note 1: We recommend using a wide knife to smash the cucumber, ideally a Chinese cutting knife.
Note 2: If you love to make a milder version by omitting the chili oil, heat up around 1 tablespoon of oil and drizzle over the salad. Because cooked oil (熟油) brings a different flavor from uncooked oil in Chinese cuisine.
Note 3: The chili oil should be prepared at least one day ahead, so the flavors can combine well and the red color can be well-formed.
Note 4: If possible, remove the soft pulp with seed to maximize the crunchy and crispy texture.
Note 5: We recommend marinating the cucumber for 5-10 minutes with salt and discard the liquid, otherwise it dilutes our seasonings added later.

Ingredients

• 2 cucumber
• 1 small bunch coriander, cut into 1 inch sections and keep some for decoration
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 red bell pepper, shredded
• 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 tbsp. chili oil
• 1 tbsp. vinegar
• 3 garlic cloves, grated

Steps

Remove the tough skins and the two ends. Cut the cucumber in center lengthwise.

Then smash the cucumber with a wide knife (recommend using a Chinese cutting knife). Optionally you can remove the pule.  Cut the cucumber into 3-4cm length sections.

Transfer to a large bowl. Sprinkle salt, mix well and set aside for 10 minutes. Discard the liquid in the bottom.

Add coriander and bell pepper shred along with all of the seasonings. Mix well and serve directly. If you want to make the dish even prettier, add some fresh coriander and drizzle some chili oil on top.