Tips on saving time—Cool? Cucumbers can do!

If Chinese food ALWAYS gives you an impression of hot, completely cooked and time-consuming prepared dishes, you should try this. This method definitely helps you eat fresh and crispy vegetables! It is still hot summer days! A bit tart with vinegar, spicy with garlic and pepper pickles and sweet if you like to add some sugar, their flavor can be an ease in such a burning season. Instead of using salad dressing, I think the sauce can better preserve the flavor of vegetables. Most of all, vinegar can benefit our blood vessels and the sauce is low cholesterol.

COLD dish, COOL yourself!

Perhaps cold dishes in China are much more famous in the north not south. Even I am from Guangzhou, I prepare cold dish like northerners do. The significant part of the dish should be the choice of vinegar. I know even vinegars in the west can be of thousands. In China, we prepare this dish with a kind of “mature vinegar”, best produced in Shanxi Province. Not the white transparent one, not the red one, but the dark black one which I always confuse it with soy sauce.

Even the appearance may not be as nice as Heinz, they are great!

Ingredients:

• 8 ozs. Cucumber
• 1 tablespoon finely minced garlic
• 1 chilli pepper （as you may like）

Seasonings:

• 4½  or more tsp mature vinegar
• ½ tsp sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil

Time:

Prep: 7 mins

Wait: 20 mins

Yield: serves 2 to 4

Method:

• Cut the cucumbers into quarters lengthwise. I don’t slice off the center to remove the seeds because they are juicy. For large cucumbers you may want to further cut the quarters into eights lengthwise. Then cut into two-inch long pieces. Add the salt and garlic then mix well. Refrigerate the cucumbers if you like or you can put it in ordinary temperature for about 20 minutes.
• When ready to serve drain the salt extracted juice from the cucumber pieces and arrange on a plate. Be sure to retain the garlic. Pour the sesame oil over the cucumber and serve chilled. I’d like to serve it with ice cubes beneath.

Enjoy your homemade flavor!

Remember: You can simply put all the seasonings into the mixing ware at first so that the flavor of spicy will be richer.

Besides cucumber, what else will you choose to prepare this kind of dish?

What would you choose to add to the cucumber dish?

Share is MARVELLOUS!