Description

This fresh-tasting Asian-style Cucumber Salad can be made in five minutes. The cool crunchy cucumber is enhanced by chilli heat and the sweet-salty dressing.

I like to eat this kind of salad in January, after the culinary excesses of Christmas and New Year, when its freshness and strong, zesty flavours are especially welcome – as is the fact that it can be thrown together in five minutes! However, it is just as good on a hot summer day.

Ingredients

Scale

1 cucumber
Half a fresh red chilli, finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes)
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of sugar
Juice of half a lime

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Instructions

Peel the cucumber to remove the dark green outer skin. Chop into the cucumber into chunks. I find the easiest way to do this is to cut the cucumber in half lengthways and then slice each half into 1 cm chunks.
In a glass or ceramic bowl combine the finely chopped red chilli (or dried chilli flakes), crushed garlic clove, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar and lime juice. Do not use a metal bowl as this may react with the ingredients.
Add the cucumber chunks to the ingredients in the bowl and mix well.

Notes

This salad can be eaten immediately. However, I think the flavours improve if it is left in the fridge for several hours. It also keeps well in the fridge for several days.

You can make a vegan version of this recipe by replacing the fish sauce with extra soy sauce.