This salad is flavorful, spicy, light, and refreshing. Cucumber slices are mixed in a hot, sour dressing. As a cold beginning, serve.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 5 mins |
| Additional Time: | 3 mins |
| Total Time: | 28 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 5 dried red chile peppers
- 5 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 spring onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons hot chile oil
- 1 teaspoon soft dark brown sugar
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon Chinese black vinegar
- ½ teaspoon toasted white sesame seeds
- 2 cucumbers – peeled, seeded, and cut into 2-inch strips
Instructions
- Heat a dry skillet over medium heat. Add red chile peppers; cook and stir until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Let cool and transfer to a spice grinder; pulse until coarsely ground.
- Mix ground chile peppers, soy sauce, spring onion, sesame oil, hot chile oil, brown sugar, garlic, black vinegar, and sesame seeds together in a bowl to make dressing.
- Place cucumbers on a serving plate. Pour dressing on top and toss well. Let sit before serving, about 3 minutes.
Reviews
a very great recipe . Easiest for dieting and sorry u won my likes
Love the sweet smoky spicy combination of flavors over the cool cucumbers! I added some thin slices of radish for some color and crunch. Omitted the garlic- the onion and toasted chiles added enough kick. I also used dark sesame oil so no need for the sesame seeds. Subbed the vinegar with rice wine vinegar as suggested by another reviewer. I’d like to make it again with avocado and sushi grade tuna for a no carb sushi dish.
Why did you not use the traditional Sichuan flower pepper? It has a flavor unique to the region and is far different from red chilies. You need to check it out. One source is: https://50hertzfoods.com/collections/sichuan-pepper-oils-peppers
Pretty good recipe for an asian cucumber salad. My only real complaint is that I felt the sesame overpowered the recipe and would cut back on the amount a little. However, I did have to make a few substitutes. I scaled down the recipe to make 2 servings and added some crushed red pepper flakes (1/2 tsp: substitute is 1/4-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper per dried red chile pepper). I didn’t have black vinegar and used rice wine vinegar, which I think is why I was missing the little bit of sweetness from how my Chinese Mom made it when I was growing up. She tells me next time in a pinch, try “combining rice wine vinegar with sugar” or “a little water, a little rice wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar (vinegar in equal measurement but more on the water”. My husband thought it was spicy but I didn’t. My rating of 4 stars is solely based on the amount of sesame oil as I felt it to be over powering, but this is easy to adjust to my liking. Thank you for the recipe!
7.3.18… https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/257513/sichuan-cucumber-salad/ … LIked this! I did a li’l subbing, but don’t think the flavor strayed too much. I used 1/2t crushed red pepper instead of the dried chiles. ‘Think I’d up to 3/4t next time. Plain oil, not hot chili; & rice wine vinegar instead of Chinese black vinegar. That’s okay, right? ;D I think the more I have this, the more I’ll like it. It’s a bit salty. Salt & I are friends so that’s okay, but may up the sugar a weensy – or take the easy way out & less soy. It’s good. Try it. 🙂 … S liked a lot & suggested adding shrimp. Huh! Huh-huh, may just … !
Delicious and spicy. I used a spiralizer and added some radishes. Thank you for the recipe.