Philly Chinatown Oriental Ginger Cucumbers Recipes

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-INSPIRED CUCUMBERS WITH A KICK

Steps:

• Whisk rice vinegar, lime juice, honey, ginger, peanut butter, garlic, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, and sriracha sauce together in a small bowl to make dressing.
• Slice red onion into spirals with a spiralizer fitted with a straight-flat blade. Spiralize cucumbers into thin, curly ribbons; snip into serving-size lengths with kitchen shears or a knife. Transfer to a shallow bowl.
• Drizzle dressing over onion and cucumbers; mix gently to combine. Garnish with peanuts and jalapeno pepper.

GINGER-SPICED CUCUMBERS

Steps:

• In a serving bowl, stir together the red wine vinegar, mirin, brown sugar, ginger and lime juice. Add the cucumber and onion, and toss gently to coat. Chill for 30 minutes to blend flavors before serving.

COOL ORIENTAL CUCUMBER SALAD

Steps:

• For dressing, mix first 8 ingredients in a container and shake well.
• Refrigerate for a couple of hours to blend the flavors.
• Slice onion very thin and place in ice water for half hour.
• Dry onion with paper towels before using.
• Peel cucumbers and slice thin.
• Place in a bowl, pour on dressing and mix well.
• Peel and slice avocado.
• Arrange cucumbers (don't pour out the dressing), onion, and avocado individually on a plate (they can be mixed but I like the way they look individually).
• Drizzle the remaining dressing on the onion and avocado.
• Sprinkle with sesame seeds or peanuts.

ORIENTAL CUCUMBER SALAD

Steps:

• Place cucumbers in medium bowl. Sprinkle with salt. Toss. Chill 1 hour.
• Drain cucumbers and return to bowl. Combine remaining ingredients in another bowl. Pour over cucumbers and toss to coat. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Refrigerate.)

GINGERY CUCUMBERS

Steps:

• Scrub and trim cucumbers, but do not peel. Slice thinly.
• Chop or grate ginger and place in serving bowl with vinegar, sugar and sesame oil. Stir in cucumbers.

PHILLY CHINATOWN ORIENTAL GINGER CUCUMBERS

Steps:

• If the cukes are waxed? You gotta peel them.
• Go for unwaxed.
• Combine the salt and cucumbers and allow to sit for 1 hour. Rinse thoroughly under cold.
• water and pat dry. Place in a bowl.
• In a small saucepan, heat together the ginger, vinegar, sugar, water and oil. Bring to a boil, then pour over cucumbers.
• Marinate at least overnight.
• To serve, garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
• Variation Add 1/2-1 teaspoon of hot chili flakes to the marinade. Note? That is HOT chili flakes. You have been warned.