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AI-generated photograph: Ragged pieces of smashed cucumber piled in a shallow celadon green bowl, glossy with a dark dressing, flecked with red chilli and bright coriander leaves

Home · Recipes · Smashed cucumber salad

East and South East Asian · Sides

Smashed cucumber salad

smashed cucumber · garlic and rice vinegar · chilli flakes

AI-generated photograph

Cool cucumber cracked open with the flat of a knife so the rough edges drink up a sharp garlic and rice vinegar dressing. Crisp, cold and ready in 15 minutes.

Contains: soya, as written. Contains soya, from the tamari. Tamari is a soy sauce usually made without wheat, but check the bottle says gluten free. Some rice vinegars contain sulphites, so check the label if that matters to you.

Ingredients

  • 1 large cucumber (about 400g)
  • Half a teaspoon salt
  • 1 garlic clove, finely grated
  • 1 tablespoon tamari (a soy sauce made without wheat)
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon caster sugar
  • A pinch of chilli flakes
  • To serve: a small handful of fresh coriander leaves (about 10g)

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Let's cook

  1. Cut the ends off the cucumber, then cut it in half across and in half again lengthways, so you have 4 long pieces.
  2. Lay a piece cut side down on a board. Press down hard on it with the flat side of a large knife, or tap it firmly with a rolling pin, until it cracks and splits open. Do the same with the rest. You want rough, broken pieces, not a mush.
  3. Cut the cracked cucumber on a slant into chunks about 3cm long. Put them in a sieve over a bowl, sprinkle over the salt and toss. Leave for 10 minutes: the salt draws out water so the cucumber stays crunchy and the dressing does not go watery.
  4. Meanwhile, mix the garlic, tamari, rice vinegar, sugar and chilli flakes in a bowl, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
  5. Shake the cucumber well to get rid of the water that has come out, and pat it dry with kitchen paper. Do not rinse it.
  6. Just before serving, toss the cucumber with the dressing. Pile it into a shallow bowl and scatter over the coriander.

Tips

  • Dress it at the last minute: left to sit, the cucumber softens and the dressing thins.
  • Smashing gives jagged edges that hold far more dressing than neat slices.
  • Keep the cucumber in the fridge until you start, so the salad is properly cold.

Swaps

  • Nutty taste: add half a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil to the dressing (it then contains sesame).
  • No heat: leave out the chilli flakes for children.
  • No tamari: use light soy sauce, but it then contains gluten.

More in the East Asian meal plan

Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.

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The East Asian meal plan