Have you ever grown to sort of tolerate a food you didn’t like before? I am feeling that way with mushrooms and cucumbers these days. I still don’t like zucchini and squash besides pumpkin though. Here is another recipe from the Scum Villain cookbook zine, Proud Immortal Culinary Way, the Pounded Peerless Cucumber Salad. Salacious name, if you know the novel, heheh.
Ingredients Summary –easy to find at most grocery stores
- spices: vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, chili oil or red pepper flakes or a sliced pepper, sesame oil, sugar, sesame seeds
- veggies: cucumber
Steps Summary – very quick to prepare, up to an hour to wait
Peel and smash cucumber, cut into chunks. Salt then drain after 15-20 minutes. Mix remaining ingredients except for seeds to make a sauce and pour over cucumbers. Garnish with sesame seeds.
Taste Summary – tastes exactly as you expect, salty and spicy
- Taste – you can adjust the garlic and heat level with various forms or garlic and chili pepper to your taste, while the refreshing watery cucumber taste is still present
- Texture – the cucumbers remain a little crunchy but pleasant to bite into
Convenience Summary
Except for the wait time to drain the cucumbers and then chilling to let the flavors meld, pretty quick to whip up for an appetizer. Though it’s not recommended to save for later, if I use a small Persian cucumber, I can eat the whole dish in one sitting lol. The majority of the ingredients you should have on hand, you just need a cucumber to smash. Overall, this is my new favorite way to eat cucumbers (besides cucumber sandwiches but I don’t always have cream cheese nor want to eat cream cheese). It’s got a kick that I prefer to my veggies, but you still feel refreshed and like you ate something hydrating and healthy. Recommend!