REC: Smacked cucumber in garlicky sauce

[Victor Sack]

This very nice and easy Sichuanese recipe from Fuchsia Dunlop's new,
soon-to-be-released book, _Every Grain of Rice_, appeared recently in
The Telegraph. Much recommended.

Victor


<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/9272084/Smacked-cucumber-in-garlicky-sauce.html>

Smacked cucumber in garlicky sauce
By Fuchsia Dunlop
The Telegraph

Suan ni pai huang gua

Serves 2-4

This exceptionally quick and easy dish was a favourite of mine at the
now demolished and much-missed Bamboo Bar, a small restaurant just
outside the Sichuan University campus. The serving girls there, who
lodged like sardines in the attic at the top of the old wooden building,
used to mix up the seasonings behind the counter, taking spoonfuls of
garnet-red chilli oil and dark soy sauce from the bowls in the glass
cabinet beside them and tossing the cucumber in the piquant sauce. The
combination of seasonings, known as 'garlic paste flavour' (suan ni
wei), is a Sichuanese classic, with its garlicky pungency and
undercurrent of sweetness. The same sauce may be used to dress fresh
broad beans, thinly sliced cooked pork (perhaps mixed with fine slivers
of carrot and Asian radish), boiled pork dumplings or wontons, and many
other ingredients. You may use sweet, aromatic soy sauce instead of
light soy sauce if you have it in stock.

The cucumber is smacked before cutting to loosen its flesh and help it
absorb the flavours of the sauce. Try not to smash it into smithereens.

Ingredients

1 cucumber (about 300g)
4 tsp salt
1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
4 tsp caster sugar
2 tsp light soy sauce
4 tsp Chinkiang (brown rice) vinegar
2 tbsp chilli oil
a pinch or two of ground roasted Sichuan pepper (optional)

Lay the cucumber on a chopping board and smack it hard a few times with
the flat blade of a Chinese cleaver or with a rolling-pin. Then cut it
lengthways into four pieces. Hold your knife at an angle to the chopping
board and cut the cucumber on the diagonal into 4-1cm slices. Place in a
bowl with the salt, mix well and set aside for about 10 minutes. Combine
all the other ingredients in a small bowl. Drain the cucumber, pour over
the sauce, stir well and serve immediately.

Variations

A sweet-and-sour sauce for smacked cucumber A lovely variation. Smack,
cut and salt the cucumber as in the main recipe, but dress it with the
following seasonings: 4 tsp salt, 1 tbsp finely chopped garlic, 2 tsp
caster sugar, 2 tsp Chinkiang vinegar, 1 tsp light soy sauce and, if you
fancy a bit of heat, 2 tbsp chilli oil.

Smacked cucumber with sesame and preserved mustard greens For a nutty,
savoury flavour, smack, cut and salt the cucumber as in the main recipe,
but dress it with the following seasonings: 2 tbsp Sichuan preserved
mustard greens (ya cai), 1 tsp finely chopped garlic, 1 tbsp runny
sesame paste, 14 tsp clear rice vinegar, 1 tsp sesame oil, and salt to
taste.

[George M. Middius]

Victor Sack wrote:

> Lay the cucumber on a chopping board and smack it hard a few times with
> the flat blade of a Chinese cleaver or with a rolling-pin.

Screaming Viking!

[Chemo the Clown]

I've known a few cucs that could put up a pretty good fight!

[gregz]

Victor Sack <azaz...@koroviev.de> wrote:
> This very nice and easy Sichuanese recipe from Fuchsia Dunlop's new,
> soon-to-be-released book, _Every Grain of Rice_, appeared recently in
> The Telegraph. Much recommended.
>
>

Speaking of cucumber, that reminded me to start making one of my dads
favorite snacks. He would frequently slice cucumber and onion, let it soak
in the fridge with water and vinegar. It's been many years since I had
that. I loved it.

Greg

[A Moose in Love]

On May 21, 8:03 pm, gregz <ze...@comcast.net> wrote:

I like Samuel Clemen's (Mark Twain) recipe for cucumber salad:
Slice peeled cukes nice and fine like
Season with salt and pepper
Then throw the whole thing out as good for nothing

[George M. Middius]

Chemo the Clown wrote:

> > > Lay the cucumber on a chopping board and smack it hard a few times with
> > > the flat blade of a Chinese cleaver or with a rolling-pin.
> >
> > Screaming Viking!
>
> I've known a few cucs that could put up a pretty good fight!

You're Ozzian, right? You might not recognize my allusion.

[Bob Terwilliger]

Victor wrote:

> This very nice and easy Sichuanese recipe from Fuchsia Dunlop's new,
> soon-to-be-released book, _Every Grain of Rice_, appeared recently in
> The Telegraph. Much recommended.
>
> Victor
>
>
> <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/9272084/Smacked-cucumber-in-garlicky-sauce.html>
>
> Smacked cucumber in garlicky sauce
> By Fuchsia Dunlop
> The Telegraph

That looks very much like the stuff they called cucumber kimchee in Korea.

Bob

[Jim Elbrecht]

azaz...@koroviev.de (Victor Sack) wrote:

>This very nice and easy Sichuanese recipe from Fuchsia Dunlop's new,
>soon-to-be-released book, _Every Grain of Rice_, appeared recently in
>The Telegraph. Much recommended.
>

><http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/9272084/Smacked-cucumber-in-garlicky-sauce.html>
>
> Smacked cucumber in garlicky sauce

you had me at 'smacked' -- i called my version of 'chicken parmesan'
'smashed chicken' once and it stuck. Smacked cucumber is sure to
be a hit in our house- especially with garlic.

-snip-

>
>The cucumber is smacked before cutting to loosen its flesh and help it
>absorb the flavours of the sauce. Try not to smash it into smithereens.
>

I've never done this before-- What type of cuke responds best? The
seedless, long ones, the 8" or so 'salad cukes' or the shorter, fatter
one sold as 'pickling cukes' in some markets.

Looks like I need to make a trip to the Asian market anyway- so I'll
try them all and see what we like.

>2 tsp light soy sauce
>4 tsp Chinkiang (brown rice) vinegar
>2 tbsp chilli oil

I've got to get all 3 of them.

>a pinch or two of ground roasted Sichuan pepper (optional)

Every time I see it in a recipe I am compelled to say *it is not even
close to black pepper*. The first recipe I ran across with Sichuan
peppercorns in it said you could substitute black pepper. Sure you
can. But it doesn't have any similarity to Sichuan pepper.

>Lay the cucumber on a chopping board and smack it hard a few times with
>the flat blade of a Chinese cleaver or with a rolling-pin. Then cut it
>lengthways into four pieces.

OK-- Looking at the picture and imagining those pieces as quarters,
that must be one of the long skinny cukes.

-snip-

>
>Smacked cucumber with sesame and preserved mustard greens For a nutty,
>savoury flavour, smack, cut and salt the cucumber as in the main recipe,
>but dress it with the following seasonings: 2 tbsp Sichuan preserved
>mustard greens (ya cai),

Back to my Asian supermarket list. Shopping there is a real
adventure because they serve several Asian cuisines- and few of the
staff speak english. Those that do speak some english, and their
native language. [Korean, Vietnames, Japanese, Chinese. . . .]
I'm always happy when I can get as much as 'don't know. . . not
Vietnamese/Korean/Chinese. . . '. About 1/2 of the merchandise
only has English ingredient lists-- and I still haven't cracked the
code of how they arrange things-- though one aisle is nearly all rice
vinegars and cooking wines.

>1 tsp finely chopped garlic, 1 tbsp runny
>sesame paste, 14 tsp clear rice vinegar, 1 tsp sesame oil, and salt to
>taste.

Really?<g> *Runny* sesame paste? At least I'll already be in the
rice vinegar aisle so I should be able to find the clear.

Any other rice vinegars that are 'should haves'?

Thanks-- I'll consider these recipes my adventure for the week.

Jim

[Victor Sack]

Bob Terwilliger <virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz> wrote:

> Victor wrote:
> >
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/9272084/Smacked-cucumbe

r-in-garlicky-sauce.html>
> >
> > Smacked cucumber in garlicky sauce
> > By Fuchsia Dunlop
> > The Telegraph
>
> That looks very much like the stuff they called cucumber kimchee in Korea.

There are certainly some similarities - with both dishes being somewhat
sour, sweet and spicy - but I think the differences outweigh them. In
Korean oi kimchi (or oi sobagi) there is usually some fermentation
taking place; vinegar is generally not used, neither is chilli oil or
soy sauce. Instead, gochugaru (hot Korean chile powder) and sometimes
fish sauce are used. Also, the cucumbers are not smacked. I have never
tasted the dishes side-by-side, but I am sure the differences would be
immediately apparent.

I now think you may be thinking of oi muchim, a kind of spiced cucumber
salad.

Victor

[Victor Sack]

Jim Elbrecht <elbr...@email.com> wrote:

> azaz...@koroviev.de (Victor Sack) wrote:
>
><http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/9272084/Smacked-cucumb

er-in-garlicky-sauce.html>
> >
> > Smacked cucumber in garlicky sauce
>

> I've never done this before-- What type of cuke responds best? The
> seedless, long ones, the 8" or so 'salad cukes' or the shorter, fatter
> one sold as 'pickling cukes' in some markets.

The recipe specifies a 300 g (10 oz) cucumber, so the long ones seems to
be the right ones. I used a long cucumber.

> Looks like I need to make a trip to the Asian market anyway- so I'll
> try them all and see what we like.

> >a pinch or two of ground roasted Sichuan pepper (optional)
>
> Every time I see it in a recipe I am compelled to say *it is not even
> close to black pepper*. The first recipe I ran across with Sichuan
> peppercorns in it said you could substitute black pepper. Sure you
> can. But it doesn't have any similarity to Sichuan pepper.

They are of course different, but they can be combined with each other,
with the Sichuan pepper providing the "ma" (mouth numbing) part and the
black pepper the "la" (spicy-hot) part of the classic combination common
to the Sichuan and the Hunan cuisines. The "la" part is usually
provided by chile peppers, though.

Victor

[Jim Elbrecht]

azaz...@koroviev.de (Victor Sack) wrote:

>This very nice and easy Sichuanese recipe from Fuchsia Dunlop's new,
>soon-to-be-released book, _Every Grain of Rice_, appeared recently in
>The Telegraph. Much recommended.

Agree on the recipe-- don't know the boo.

>
><http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/9272084/Smacked-cucumber-in-garlicky-sauce.html>
>
> Smacked cucumber in garlicky sauce

-snip-

>combination of seasonings, known as 'garlic paste flavour' (suan ni
>wei), is a Sichuanese classic, with its garlicky pungency and
>undercurrent of sweetness. The same sauce may be used to dress fresh
>broad beans, thinly sliced cooked pork (perhaps mixed with fine slivers
>of carrot and Asian radish), boiled pork dumplings or wontons, and many
>other ingredients. You may use sweet, aromatic soy sauce instead of
>light soy sauce if you have it in stock.

I didn't notice that note on the soy sauce this morning. Glad I
didn't. I don't know what makes it 'light soy sauce'. I spent
a lot of time in 2 stores looking for a lighter colored sauce. I
ended up with a bottle of Amoy's "Supreme (Grade A) Light Soy Sauce"

It is neither light in color or flavor-- good stuff.
-snip-
>
>1 cucumber (about 300g)

As luck would have it, the only good looking cukes in the Asian stores
were labeled "Chinese Cucumbers''- and were about 150g each. Made
them the perfect size for smacking with my chef's knife.

-snip-

>4 tsp Chinkiang (brown rice) vinegar

mmmm-- I got Gold Plum brand for this-- another welcome addition to
the pantry. My lesson for the day is that Asian stores have
about 8 feet of shelf space dedicated to different rice vinegars.

>2 tbsp chilli oil
Is this a misprint? Granted, there were several different chili
oils, and the one I got was in a small bottle. . . Tso Hin Kee
"Szechuan Style Chile Oil"

I tasted it and reduced the amount to a single *scant* *teaspoon*.
I swear if I had filled the spoon, I would have ruined the dish. My
chili eating son will try it later.

>a pinch or two of ground roasted Sichuan pepper (optional)

Darn it-- I forgot to add that. But the dish was fine without-- a
lot already going on. I'll have another helping after I toast,
smash and add some peppercorns.

>Lay the cucumber on a chopping board and smack it hard a few times with
>the flat blade of a Chinese cleaver or with a rolling-pin.

That's an interesting technique. Tomorrow I'm going to smash one
and just cut one and see if I can notice the difference. And I'll
try it with a few different kinds of cucumbers.

-snip-

>
>Smacked cucumber with sesame and preserved mustard greens

The Sichuan gods were guiding me, apparently. I noticed a can of
"Preserved Vegetable" in the back corner of one store. Funny labels
catch my eye- and further investigation showed me it was *vegan*
mustard greens. My daughter liked the greens she got in Georgia last
winter, but brought home greens with meat in them.

Then, I saw another label "Yuquan, Preserved Vegetable with black
fungus" -- that package is going to get mixed in this cucumber dish.

-snip-

>mustard greens (ya cai), 1 tsp finely chopped garlic, 1 tbsp runny
>sesame paste,

Didn't find the sesame paste in either store-- Guess I'll make my
own.

> 14 tsp clear rice vinegar,

Another nice addition to the cupboard.

Thanks for the recipe-- and the prod to get down to the Asian markets
again-- It is exhausting for me-- but in a good way.

And those cucumbers-- I've been nursing a chest cold and a helping
of them did more to loosen up my chest than any of the decongestants
I've been taking. Garlic? Chili oil? Salt? - all good

Jim

[Jim Elbrecht]

On Tue, 22 May 2012 00:03:08 +0000 (UTC), gregz <ze...@comcast.net>
wrote:

-snip-

>>
>
>Speaking of cucumber, that reminded me to start making one of my dads
>favorite snacks. He would frequently slice cucumber and onion, let it soak
>in the fridge with water and vinegar. It's been many years since I had
>that. I loved it.

Give it some sesame seeds, grated ginger and a splash of wasabi - And
a splash of sesame oil, if you care to.

And try that garlicky stuff, too--

Jim

[gtr]

On 2012-05-21 21:46:00 +0000, Victor Sack said:

> <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/9272084/Smacked-cucumber-in-garlicky-sauce.html>
>
>
> Smacked cucumber in garlicky sauce
> By Fuchsia Dunlop
> The Telegraph
>
> Suan ni pai huang gua

Man this looks fantastic!

[Jean B.]

OMG! This is the first I have heard of a new CHINESE cookbook by
Fuchsia Dunlop! (I was not most pleased when she switched her
focus to Spain.) I buy almost NO new cookbooks, but I will sure
get this one. Thanks for the recipe--and, even more, for the
heads-up, Victor!

Oh dear. Sudden deflation as I realize there will probably be a
lag between the book's release in the UK and here. Boo hoo, if
that is the case.

--
Jean B.

[Jean B.]

Sqwertz wrote:

> On Tue, 22 May 2012 08:22:35 -0400, Jim Elbrecht wrote:
>
>>> 1 tsp finely chopped garlic, 1 tbsp runny
>>> sesame paste, 14 tsp clear rice vinegar, 1 tsp sesame oil, and salt to
>>> taste.
>

> 14 teaspoons. I think I'm going to live life on the edge and use 1/4
> cup + 2 teaspoons! Wish me luck!

>
>> Really?<g> *Runny* sesame paste?
>

> I actually have this. I thought it was defective or adulterated.
>
> -sw

Describe? Is there an easy way to approximate this with the
normal sesame paste? Add sesame oil or ???

--
Jean B.

[Christine Dabney]

On Wed, 23 May 2012 00:22:21 -0400, "Jean B." <jb...@rcn.com> wrote:

>OMG! This is the first I have heard of a new CHINESE cookbook by
>Fuchsia Dunlop! (I was not most pleased when she switched her
>focus to Spain.) I buy almost NO new cookbooks, but I will sure
>get this one. Thanks for the recipe--and, even more, for the
>heads-up, Victor!
>
>Oh dear. Sudden deflation as I realize there will probably be a
>lag between the book's release in the UK and here. Boo hoo, if
>that is the case.

I empathize, Jean. I have two of her books and love them both. She
is amazing.

I will have a hard time waiting as well. But I am on a cookbook diet
right now, refraining from buying any cookbooks at all. It is hell
for me, to be honest. I have a wish list on Amazon that has 70 books
in it now.

For anyone that is interested, my Amazon wish list is public. Feel
free to send me any cookbooks on it. ;)))

Christine
--
http://nightstirrings.blogspot.com

[Jean B.]

OMG! That's quite a wish list. I also am on that diet, alas. I
do get books at library sales, but not many there either.

I assume all the books on your wish list are relatively new?

--
Jean B.

[Jean B.]

Sqwertz wrote:

> On Wed, 23 May 2012 00:24:38 -0400, Jean B. wrote:
>
>> Sqwertz wrote:
>>> On Tue, 22 May 2012 08:22:35 -0400, Jim Elbrecht wrote:
>>>
>>>>> 1 tsp finely chopped garlic, 1 tbsp runny
>>>>> sesame paste, 14 tsp clear rice vinegar, 1 tsp sesame oil, and salt to
>>>>> taste.
>>> 14 teaspoons. I think I'm going to live life on the edge and use 1/4
>>> cup + 2 teaspoons! Wish me luck!
>>>
>>>> Really?<g> *Runny* sesame paste?
>>> I actually have this. I thought it was defective or adulterated.

>> Describe? Is there an easy way to approximate this with the
>> normal sesame paste? Add sesame oil or ???
>

> I suspect this stuff was watered down with some sort of oil even
> though it claims to be 100% sesame seed. Sesame seeds just cannot be
> this wet. This has the consistency of thick cream with no oil
> separation.
>
> I guess if I had to make it thinner, I would just use unrefined sesame
> oil (not toasted sesame oil).
>
> -sw
>
>
I will try to remember to look for that. Heck, I went by an Asian
grocery store this very day and forgot.

--
Jean B.

[Jean B.]

BTW, I just tried to look for the soon-to-be-published Dunlop book
on the B&N site, thinking there might be an ETA. I am reminded
that it is almost impossible to get what you want on that site and
on amazon, because both need to connect to so many things now.
Even in quotes, I got a huge list of other things and then stuff
about Dunlop tires! This is insane.

Lemme try amazon.co.uk

That's somewhat better. It's being released on June 7 in the UK.
But when will we get it here? Or do we have to order from the
UK--or think about doing so, anyway. I do have one hoarded B&N
gift card, and I highly suspect that is what it will be used on.

--
Jean B.

[The Cook]

Amazon says Feb. 4, 2013. Pre-order it if you want it. Add a small
something to the order and get free shipping.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Fuchsia+Dunlop
--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral,
48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

[Jean B.]

Sqwertz wrote:
>> BTW, I just tried to look for the soon-to-be-published Dunlop book
>> on the B&N site, thinking there might be an ETA. I am reminded
>> that it is almost impossible to get what you want on that site and
>> on amazon, because both need to connect to so many things now.
>> Even in quotes, I got a huge list of other things and then stuff
>> about Dunlop tires! This is insane.
>

> I found it on the first try, about 7 books down on the list.
>
> It will be here Feb 1st, 2012!
>
> http://www.amazon.com/Every-Grain-Rice-Fuchsia-Dunlop/dp/140880252X/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1337836658&sr=8-5
>
> Or maybe February 4th, 2013...
>
> http://www.amazon.com/Every-Grain-Rice-Chinese-Cooking/dp/0393089045/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_2/192-7677710-0724911
>
> So we'll split the difference and say August 3rd 2012?
>
> -sw
>

Oh sniff. Maybe after it is out in the UK, we will be able to
"look inside" and see whether it is necessary to wait.


--
Jean B.

[Jean B.]

That's SUCH a long time to wait. I will see if I can peek inside
the UK edition first. Depending on what I see, I may "have to"
order it from there.

--
Jean B.