Smashed Cucumber Salad
User Reviews
5
14 reviews
Excellent
Smashed Cucumber Salad
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This Smashed Cucumber Salad features tender cucumber pieces lightly crushed to soak up a tangy dressing of rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, tamari, honey, garlic, lime juice, and red pepper flakes. The addition of thinly sliced avocado and toasted sesame seeds adds creamy texture and nutty crunch, while fresh chives and chive blossoms bring herbal brightness. The salad's balance of savory, sweet, and spicy elements makes it a refreshing side dish or light snack.
Description
Smashed Cucumber Salad combines mini cucumbers roughly broken to enhance their texture and absorb the flavorful dressing. Salt and sugar help release excess moisture from the cucumbers during a 30-minute resting period. The dressing mixes rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, tamari, honey, garlic, lime juice, and crushed red pepper flakes, providing a harmonious blend of tangy, sweet, and mildly spicy notes. Tossed with thin avocado slices, sesame seeds, and fresh chives, the salad offers a complex mouthfeel with crisp, creamy, and nutty components. It's best served immediately to preserve freshness and the delicate textures.
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Ingredients
- 6 to 8 cucumber mini
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 pinch sugar
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil toasted
- 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 2 garlic minced, cloves
- ½ lime juiced
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes crushed
- 1 avocado thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds toasted
- 1 tablespoons chives chopped
- chive blossoms for garnish
Instructions
- Cut the cucumbers into pieces (some in half, some lengthwise, whatever you want!) and use a jar or meat tenderizer to smash each piece, gently and most of the time, just once. You can discard any seeds that come out, but place all the cucumber pieces in a large strainer. Set the strainer over a bowl. Sprinkle on a generous pinch of salt and sugar, and toss the cucumbers. If you want, you can place a bowl (or something heavy!) on top of the cucumbers to help press out the water. Let the cucumbers sit for 30 minutes at room temperature.
- In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, garlic, lime juice and red pepper flakes until combined. I find that I don’t need salt in this dressing because of the soy sauce, but you may want to taste it and add a pinch of salt if needed.
- Drain the cucumbers and place them in a large bowl. Add in the avocado. Pour on the dressing and toss well to combine. Sprinkle on the sesame seeds, chive and chive blossoms. Serve immediately!
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
14 reviews
Excellent
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