Taiwanese Cucumber Salad
….My second daughter, who had been traveling, returned and showed me a picture of cucumber salad that she had eaten in Taiwan, her last travel destination. She started talking about how it paired perfectly with dim sum, and that she still remembered the taste vividly. Although my daughter and son-in-law looked like they had lost a bit of weight from their long journey, I was grateful they returned healthy.
That delicious Taiwanese cucumber salad! The ingredients were simple, so I tried making it based on my daughter’s explanation. For the Chinese-style chili oil, I placed ginger, garlic, and red pepper powder in a coffee filter and poured hot avocado oil over it to make it clean and neat. I lightly salted some cucumbers, made them sweet, sour, and spicy like a salad, and left them to ferment in a container for a day. My daughter tasted it before it fermented and tilted her head, saying it was a bit bland and something was missing. Hmm~~~ Let’s wait a day!
The next day, after tasting it again, my daughter gave me feedback: “Mom! It’s delicious!! It tastes exactly the same!!” Ah!! So this is the taste! Once again, I realized that time for fermentation always brings out deeper flavors. The time of waiting is necessary everywhere. My husband, finding the taste refreshing today, ate several pieces and then started choking, saying a cucumber got stuck in his throat… After a brief moment of silence, we laughed again and enjoyed the last bite. Eat slowly!! Hahaha!
Servings: 4
Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
- 500–550 g cucumbers, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 6 tbsp vinegar
- 4 tbsp chili oil
For chili oil:
- 4 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp garlic, julienned
- 1 tbsp ginger, julienned
- 1 cup avocado oil, heated
Cooking Instructions:
- Place a strainer on top of the bowl and put a coffee filter on it. Add the chili powder, garlic, and ginger on top of the coffee filter.
2. Heat a small pot over medium heat and add the avocado oil, heating until it begins to boil.
3. Carefully pour the hot oil over a coffee filter to strain the chili oil and make it clear.
4. Cut the cucumber into 1-inch pieces and place them on a tray.
5. Sprinkle sea salt over the cucumbers and let them sit for 30 minutes to remove excess water.
6. Meanwhile, thoroughly mix the sugar and vinegar in a bowl.
7. After 30 minutes, strain the cucumber using a strainer.
8. Place the cucumber in a bowl.
9. Pour the mixture of sugar and vinegar into the bowl.
10. Add the chili oil over the cucumber and refrigerate for 1 day before eating.
11. After one day, serve it as a side dish.
You can also view this recipe on Instagram.
