Oil-Soaked Cucumber
Cucumber is decoratively scored and marinated, topped with a fried sweet-sour-chili oil sauce, then covered and braised until crisp-tender, with sweet, tangy, spicy flavors and a crunchy texture.
Ingredients
tender cucumber
500 g
tomato (peeled, seeded, cut into chunks)
250 g
white sugar
100 g
white vinegar
30 g
salt
15 g
sesame oil
50 g
scallion (cut into fine shreds)
10 g
ginger (cut into fine shreds)
10 g
dried chili (cut into fine shreds)
1
Sichuan peppercorn
1 g
Instructions
1
Step 1
Cut each cucumber lengthwise into two halves, score the cut side with comb-shaped or linked flower-shaped cuts, place in a container, sprinkle with salt evenly and let marinate for 1 hour. Drain the excess water on a sterilized sieve, gently pat dry with a clean cloth, then return to a container. At the same time, cut the scallion, ginger, and dried chili into fine shreds. Blanch the tomato in boiling water, peel off the skin, cut into triangular chunks, and remove the seeds.
2
Step 2
Place the scallion and ginger shreds on top of the cucumbers, then arrange the tomato chunks on the very top.
3
Step 3
Heat the sesame oil until boiling, first fry the Sichuan peppercorn until dark then remove, then add the dried chili shreds and fry until dark purple, then add the sugar and vinegar and cook until the sugar dissolves, pour the mixture over the cucumbers and let rest for 2 hours. When serving, take out the cucumbers, cut into segments, arrange on a plate, top with the tomato, scallion and ginger shreds, then drizzle with the sauce before serving.
