Asian Cucumber Relish Recipes

SPICY ASIAN CUCUMBERS

Steps:

• Place cucumbers into a colander, sprinkle with salt, and let drain at least 30 minutes. Shake off excess liquid but don't rinse the cucumbers.
• Whisk soy sauce, sugar, garlic, rice vinegar, sesame oil, hot chili oil, and red pepper flakes in a salad bowl. Stir in cucumbers to coat with dressing. Chill 2 to 3 hours before serving.

THAI CUCUMBER RELISH

Steps:

• Bring vinegar, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook until slightly syrupy, about 5 minutes. Let cool completely. Add shallots, cucumbers, and chile. Serve immediately, or refrigerate, covered, up to 1 week.

CHINESE SMASHED CUCUMBERS WITH SESAME OIL AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Rinse cucumbers and pat dry. Cut crosswise into pieces about 4 inches long. Cut each piece in half lengthwise.
• On a work surface, place a piece of cucumber (or several) cut side down. Lay the blade of a large knife flat on top the cucumber and smash down lightly with your other hand. The skin will begin to crack, the flesh will break down and the seeds will separate. Repeat until the whole piece is smashed. Break or slice diagonally into bite-size pieces, leaving the seeds behind.
• Place the cucumber pieces in a strainer and toss with a big pinch of salt and a big pinch of sugar. Place a plastic bag filled with ice on top of the cucumbers to serve as a weight and place the strainer over a bowl. Let drain 15 to 30 minutes on the counter, or in the refrigerator until ready to serve, up to 4 hours.
• Make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine salt, sugar and rice vinegar. Stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Stir in sesame oil and soy sauce.
• When ready to serve, shake cucumbers well to drain off any remaining liquid and transfer to a serving bowl. Drizzle with grapeseed or olive oil and toss. Add half the dressing, half the garlic and the red pepper flakes to taste, and toss. Keep adding dressing until cucumbers are well coated but not drowned. Taste and add more pepper flakes and garlic if needed. Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro and sesame seeds.

ASIAN CUCUMBER SALAD

Steps:

• Put the cucumber slices in a colander and sprinkle with salt; set aside to drain for 1 hour.
• Whisk the vinegar and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved; add the sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and sesame seeds; stir.
• Rinse salt off the cucumber slices by running under cold water; place in a large bowl with the sliced red chile peppers. Drizzle the dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

ASIAN CUCUMBER RELISH

Steps:

• Halve cucumber (don't peel) discard any seeds and cut crosswise into 1/4 inch slices. Mix dressing until sugar is dissolved, add cucumber slices and stir gently to make sure slices are well covered and refrigerate for 30 minutes to a maximum of four hours.

ASIAN CUCUMBER SALAD

Steps:

• Whisk 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1/2 teaspoon sugar and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Toss with 1 pound thinly sliced Persian cucumbers, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 2 thinly sliced scallions, 1/2 minced red jalapeno, 2 tablespoons thinly sliced pickled ginger and 1 tablespoon sesame seeds. Top with more cilantro.

ASIAN-STYLE CUCUMBER SPEARS

Steps:

• Trim the ends of the cucumbers and cut each one in half lengthwise. Place in a bowl, add the salt, and toss to coat. Let stand for 1 hour at room temperature. Transfer to a colander, rinse lightly under cold running water, drain, and place in a bowl.
• Prepare dressing: In a wok or heavy saucepan set over moderate heat, heat sesame oil until hot. Add the red pepper flakes and cook, stirring 15 seconds. Add ginger, garlic, vinegar, and honey and stir-fry 30 seconds. Off heat, add cucumber and toss to coat. Transfer to a bowl, let cool and chill for at least 3 hours or overnight. Cucumbers will keep for up to one week.

CUCUMBER-DAIKON RELISH

Steps:

• Toss cucumbers with sea salt in colander. Place colander over bowl and let stand 15 minutes. Rinse cucumbers. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.
• Place radish sticks in medium bowl. Cover with water. Soak 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.
• Stir vinegar and next 3 ingredients in large bowl to blend. Add cucumbers and radish; toss to coat. Cover and chill at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.

SESAME-GINGER PORK WITH CUCUMBER RELISH

Steps:

• Mix cornstarch, dressing, 1 Tbsp. vinegar, garlic and ginger until blended.
• Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add peas; cook and stir 3 to 4 min. or until crisp-tender. Remove from skillet; cover to keep warm.
• Heat remaining oil in same skillet. Add meat; cook and stir 5 to 7 min. or until done. Add dressing mixture; cook and stir 2 to 3 min. or until thickened. Stir in peas.
• Combine cucumbers, onions and remaining vinegar. Spoon meat mixture over rice. Serve with cucumber mixture.