Simple Garlic Cucumber Salad

I love garlic. For the past couple of years, my husband’s grandfather has been giving us garlic from his garden, a gift which I now look forward to every fall. He claims he isn’t able to use it up fast enough “before it starts to grow again.” I don’t have that problem. Like I said, I love garlic.

Here’s a recipe that’s about as simple as it gets. Take garlic, smash it and mince it. Add cucumbers, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil. Done.

Okay, maybe there’s a couple more steps, but they’re optional, though I’ll explain when and why you might want to do them.

This cucumber salad is basically a Chinese cucumber salad, one you’ll often see referred to as a smashed cucumber salad. In the smashed version, you literally smash a cucumber with the flat side of a cleaver before chopping that destroyed vegetable into bite-size pieces. Doused in garlic and vinegar, the smashed cucumber quickly absorbs the flavours of its dressing. Sharp with garlic flavour and bright from the malty black vinegar, this salad is a classic.

I don’t do any smashing here, at least not of cucumbers.

The variation of cucumber salad I usually make marries that classic Chinese cucumber salad with a technique I learned from making Korean spicy cucumber salad, where thin-sliced cucumbers are salted and left to stand to draw out excess water. I’ve found this technique to result in a salad that is less watery and stays crunchy for longer. Before I started using the technique of salting and draining the cucumbers, I used to insist that a cucumber salad be finished in one meal, because it will be soggy the next day. Now, I will happily eat this salad left over up to two days after I first make it (but it probably won’t last that long because it’s so addictively good).

This salad is an excellent option for a quick side dish when you need a fresh and bright element to balance out a heavier meal. In the summer, I particularly like to serve it alongside grilled meats. Since you can make it ahead of time, you could easily throw this salad together and keep it chilled in the fridge while you grill outside or assemble the rest of your meal.

Recipe

If you’re in a hurry, you can definitely omit the part where you let the salted cucumbers stand. However, if you anticipate having leftovers or you’re making the salad ahead of time, then I highly recommend giving the cucumbers time to expel excess water. In fact, if you do drain the excess water, then you could easily make this salad a day in advance and let the cucumbers marinate in the dressing overnight in the fridge. When you serve it straight from the fridge the next day, the salad will be deliciously cold, crunchy, and tangy–like a fresh pickle.

Ingredients

• 4 mini cucumbers (about 300g), sliced 1/4 inch thin¹
• 1-2 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp Chinese black vinegar (Chinkiang Black Rice Vinegar²)
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• Kosher salt
• Granulated sugar

Notes

1. In the summer, I like to get small field cucumbers from the farmers’ market. When those are unavailable, I use mini cucumbers from the grocery store. It’s not because we’re fancy but because both my husband and I get super bloated from English cucumbers. ↩︎
2. Gold Plum is the only brand I will buy for the rest of my life. This is the brand I grew up with. IYKYK. Watch out for copycats, I kid you not. ↩︎

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl (or any bowl large enough to mix in), combine sliced cucumbers with a big pinch of salt and a little bit of sugar. I use Kosher salt, so I’m pretty heavy-handed here, but if you use table salt, you’ll want to use less. Mix well and set aside for at least 15 minutes.
2. Drain off any water that has come out of the cucumbers. Add the garlic, soy sauce (1 tbsp), vinegar (2 tbsp), and sesame oil (1 tsp). Mix to combine, and ensure all the cucumber slices are coated. Let stand 15 minutes (or longer if you have time) to allow cucumbers to absorb the dressing. Serve.