In some Chinese menus, you might also see cucumber salad referred to as 涼拌黃瓜 (liang ban huang gua), which literally translates to cool tossed cucumbers. All these salads are quite similar: raw cucumber pieces tossed with raw garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, and other seasonings. Chinese smashed cucumber salad is a good side dish that’s simple to prepare but delivers in flavor. As a matter of fact, I sometimes just eat the salad with rice for dinner and it’s so satisfying.
HOW TO MAKE CHINESE SMASHED CUCUMBER SALAD
SELECTING CUCUMBERS
When making cucumber salads, I like using cucumbers with tender seeds. That’s why Persian, Japanese, or English (hot house) cucumbers work great for this smashed cucumber salad recipe. Personally, I think Japanese cucumbers taste the best because they have a subtle sweet flavor. I find Persian and English cucumbers a bit bland nowadays. I usually buy Japanese cucumbers at the Sacramento farmers markets. You can also find them in Japanese grocery stores like Oto’s Marketplace. If Japanese cucumbers are not easy to find, use Persian or English cucumbers.
PREPARING CUCUMBERS
Japanese cucumbers can be quite thick, especially ones that I find at the farmers market. Because of the thickness, they can be difficult to smack whole with a knife. That’s why I recommend slicing the cucumber in half lengthwise. Then, place the cucumbers, cut side down. Place the side of your knife over the cucumber. Using the fleshy part of your palm, smack the knife, until the cucumber starts to split. Continue doing this along the length of the cucumber. The larger surface area of a meat cleaver makes it perfect for this job. Finally, slice the cucumber diagonally. Persian cucumbers tend to be smaller and have more tender skin than Japanese cucumbers. If you’re using Persian cucumbers, you should be able to smack them whole without having to slice them first.
SHOULD YOU SALT THE CUCUMBERS?
It depends on your preference. Most cucumber salad recipes will tell you to toss the cucumbers with a pinch of salt. Then, you let the cucumbers rest for 15 to 20 minutes so that the salt can draw out excess moisture. If you hate watery cucumber salads, then you’ll absolutely want to do this salting step. I’ll be honest, I often don’t bother to salt the cucumbers beforehand. I usually wait until I’m just about to serve dinner before tossing the smashed cucumber pieces with the sauce. I think that I can taste the natural sweetness of the cucumbers better this way. That said, in about 15 minutes, a pool of water will form at the bottom of the salad bowl. I don’t mind this liquid at all. As a matter of fact, that liquid is great for flavoring jasmine rice. In the recipe and the cooking video, I provide directions on salting the cucumbers just in case that’s what people prefer.
MAKING HOMEMADE CHILI OIL
I like using my homemade chili oil as a component of the sauce for this smashed cucumber salad. If you’ve made my chili oil before, you’ll know that I like using fresh garlic and ginger to make the oil more fragrant. I also like using a combination of regular chili flakes (below left) and gochugaru (below right), Korean red pepper flakes (sometimes translated as red pepper powder). The chili flakes are the red pepper flakes that you can find in the spice aisles of your grocery store. They should have a medium level of spice. I usually buy chili flakes from The Allspicery, which is a Sacramento spice shop. I love using gochugaru for my chili oil because it has a subtle spice and light smoky flavor. More importantly, it turns the chili oil into a beautiful shade of red that is unparalleled. You can find gochugaru in Korean supermarkets in big bags. I also like using Mother-In-Law’s gochugaru because they come in small jars. It’s a good size if you don’t use gochugaru often. To make the oil, add all the spices to a heat-proof bowl (ceramic or stainless steel is great). Then, heat 1/3 cup of oil over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until the temperature of the oil reaches 325ºF to 350ºF and the oil looks thin and runny. You can use any neutral flavored oil like vegetable, grapeseed, almond, or avocado oil. Do not heat the oil hotter than 350ºF because the gochugaru will burn. Carefully pour the hot oil over the spices. Let the oil infuse for at least 30 minutes.
WHAT TO DO WITH LEFTOVER CHILI OIL
You only need 2 tablespoons of the chili oil for the smashed cucumber salad, so you will have leftover chili oil. I recommend tossing it with noodles or using it to season fried rice or stir fries. Try to use the sauce within a week because of the fresh ginger and garlic in the chili oil. Store the chili oil in the refrigerator. For more inspiration, here’s a list of dishes that you can use with the chili oil:
Homemade NoodlesEgg Fried RiceKimchi Fried RiceRed Curry Tofu DumplingsUse as a drizzle over basic congee, vegan congee, or pumpkin millet porridge
SAUCE FOR SMASHED CUCUMBER SALAD
For the cucumber salad sauce, you’ll need the chili oil, freshly grated garlic, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil. To mellow out the raw bite of the garlic, I mix the garlic with rice vinegar and let that sit for 15 minutes. I like the brightness of rice vinegar for the smashed cucumber salad. Other recipes I’ve seen use Zhenjiang vinegar (鎮江醋, or Chinkiang vinegar). Zhenjiang vinegar is a dark vinegar that has a malty flavor profile. Don’t toss the cucumbers with the sauce until you are ready to serve your meal. That way the cucumbers won’t become too soggy or limp.
CAN I MAKE THIS SALAD AHEAD?
Yes, you can prepare the salad ingredients up to a day ahead. Just store the cucumbers and the sauce separately in the refrigerator. Don’t toss the smashed cucumber salad until you’re just about ready to serve it.
