Smacked cucumbers 3 ways

Lara Lee loves Northern Chinese smashed cucumbers, so much so that she shared a trio of versions. Bonus? It all starts with one recipe where a few small adjustments can make three different cucumber side dishes.

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Series. Cooking. Rated PG.

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Ingredients

• 1 medium cucumber (about 370 g)
• ½ tsp sea salt flakes
• 1 tsp black vinegar
• 2 tbsp chilli crisp oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed (or 1 tsp garlic paste)
• 2 tsp coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
• 1 tbsp (20 ml) soy sauce
• ¼ cup roasted salted peanuts, roughly chopped

Smacked cucumbers with garlicky yoghurt

• 1 x core recipe
• 200 g Greek yoghurt
• 1 crushed garlic clove (or 1 tsp garlic paste)
• Sea salt flakes
• Crusty bread, to serve

Smacked cucumber gazpacho

• 1 x core recipe
• 4 heaped tbsp Greek yoghurt
• 4 ice cubes
• 1 long red chilli, thinly sliced to serve
• 1 tbsp finely chopped cucumber, to serve

Instructions

1. Lay the cucumber a chopping board and smack it hard with the flat side of a large knife or rolling pin, until it starts to crack and split. Cut the cucumber in quarters lengthways, then slice into thick chunks diagonally. Place in a bowl with the salt and allow to stand for about 10 minutes. Combine the black vinegar, chilli crisp oil, garlic, sugar and soy sauce in a small bowl. Drain the cucumber, then transfer to a medium serving bowl. Pour over the prepared sauce, gently mix to combine, then sprinkle with the peanuts and serve immediately.
2. Variation: Smacked cucumbers with garlicky yoghurt. Make the core recipe. Mix the Greek yoghurt with garlic and a pinch of sea salt flakes. Spread the yoghurt over a large, flat serving dish, then spoon the cucumbers and dressing on top. Serve with crusty bread.
3. Variation: Smacked cucumber gazpacho. Make the core recipe. Place into a food processor and blend with the Greek yoghurt and ice cubes. Chill in the fridge until ready to serve. Garnish with chilli and cucumber.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.