Smashed Asian Cucumber Salad

I added hot chili oil for a little spice

Salt the cucumber beforehand, or mix the dressing when serving. Otherwise the salad will be very watery

A little watery--maybe dry the cucumbers?

Fresh and flavourful. Great accompaniment to satay tofu skewers

Great side dish with dumplings or spicy pork

Easy to make and flavoursome. Definitely going to be a regular 😊

Used 1 English cucumber and just eyeballed the amounts (about 1/3 of the amount of mixture in the recipe). Tasted great! Cilantro is a must.

Wow okay so this recipe has the perfect description of how to smash a cucumber. It worked well for me and so I refer you to the recipe for that. So easy! Additional/alternative ingredients: I used garlic powder, dash of soy sauce and a lime Alternative recipe: My friend from China she apparently makes the best smashed cucumber salad. I believe this because she knowssss food. This is her take: “I smack it, add garlic, dried red pepper, Chinese vinegar, salt, sugar. And mix it well” She also might fry the ingredients in oil before cooling and adding it to the cold cucumber. I’m definitely trying her method. I might leave off the frying though because I’m an impatient girl when things are so yummy!

Wow! This was really flavorful. I substituted shiso for the cilantro bc cilantro's out of season. I have to say, though, this was a LOT of garlic. Will use less next time.