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Smacked Cucumber Salad (Pai Huang Gua)

Smashed, salted cucumber with garlic, black vinegar and sesame, finished with chilli crisp.

Dairy-free
Nut-free
Vegan
Vegetarian
Chinese
No-cook
Summer

Prep: 10 min
Rest: 10 min
Total: ~20 min

2 servings

Ingredients

1 cucumber (large)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
½ tsp sugar
½ tbsp black vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)
1 clove garlic, finely grated
chilli crisp (to serve)

Method

Put the cucumber on a sturdy surface. With the flat side of a large knife or a rolling pin, smack it five or six times so it cracks open, without turning it to mush. Cut on an angle into bite-sized pieces.
Toss the pieces with the salt in a bowl and leave for 10 minutes, then drain off the released liquid.
Add the sugar, sesame seeds, black vinegar and garlic and mix well.
Transfer to a serving bowl, top with chilli crisp to taste and serve straight away.

A personal cookbook. Times marked ~ are estimates.