Easy Chinese Cucumber Salad Recipe (Smashed & Spicy)

1. Clean your 4 Persian cucumbers under running water and cut the tips off. Then lay them on top of a dish towel on your counter. Add another dish towel over the cucumbers to cover them.
2. Carefully use the rolling pin or mallet to smash the cucumbers. Smash them until they crack and split, but so the cucumber is still in one whole piece. Use a knife to further slice the smashed pieces into about ½ inch pieces for easier eating.
3. Place all the cucumbers into a bowl and sprinkle the ¼ tsp salt as evenly as possible to make sure all the cucumbers are covered with salt. Take care in this step since even when mixing, some of the salt will stick to the cucumber where you initially sprinkled it. Stir the cucumbers and let the mixture sit on the counter for 30 minutes.
4. Pour the cucumbers into a strainer and run water over the cucumber to remove the excess salt.
5. Use your fingers to press or squeeze the excess water out of the cucumbers. You want to remove as much water as possible so that the cucumber will soak up all of the dressing, without completely crushing the cucumbers.

Dressing

1. In another bowl, combine the dressing ingredients: ½ tbsp Chinkiang black vinegar, ¼ tsp sesame oil, ¾ tsp white granulated sugar, and 1 tsp soy sauce then stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add any optional ingredients: 1/2 tsp chili oil, 1/8 tsp Chinese dried chili flakes, 1/4 tsp roasted sesame seeds.
2. Stir in the dressing with the cucumber and make sure all the cucumbers are coated in the dressing.
3. Serve immediately or place in the fridge to chill for about 30 minutes first for a colder cucumber salad experience.