Cucumber, Roasted Peanuts, and Chili Oil

[Shalmanese]

I distinctly remember a common cold appetizer that's common in Chinese restaurants is cucumbers with roasted peanuts in a spicy oil and I want to recreate it at home. Searching Google isn't producing any hits, does anyone have a recipe?

[C. sapidus]

Smacked cucumber, perhaps? If I recall, Fuchsia Dunlop has a recipe for this in one of her books.

[sclemmons]

I recall it too. I think it is cucumber, salted to remove the liquid and make it crispy, rinsed and chilled, plus, sesame oil and garlic, plus chili. I would add cilantro or something like that and make a salad or slaw out of it. But this is from memory.

Good luck.

[udscbt]

Hello,

I believe that this is something like the recipe for "Sweet and Tangy Cucumber Pickles" in Barbara Tropp's book "the Modern Art of Chinese cooking", page 110

Have a good day

[Katie Meadow]

When I am short on time and last minute inspiration and need a salad for an Asian style meal I do this: slice cucumber very thin. Salt and drain to crisp if you want. Make a dressing of lime juice, thai fish sauce, pinch of sugar. Add chili oil or red pepper flakes to taste. Adding a squeeze of ginger juice might be nice, and a flurry of cilantro. Top with chopped roasted peanuts.

[Kake]

I have an overview of Chinese cucumber salads/cold dishes on my blog, which may be of interest. I think the variation you describe is of a kind that I've also had trouble finding recipes for, though. Here's a picture of what I'm thinking of:

I'm wondering if simply marinating cucumber pieces in a really good chilli oil (with bits) would be a good start. I like Sunflower's recipe for chilli oil.

I've also had a really savoury version of this that reminded me somewhat of the sauce from mouthwatering chicken (口水雞/kǒu shuǐ jī). That might be another good thing to try.

Edited February 19, 2011 by Kake (log)

[nakji]

Cold cucumber dishes are my favourite - I probably make them at home three or four times a week.

Are the cucumbers in the dish you're seeking to replicate in irregular chunks, sticks, or thin slices? Salting the cucumbers first is definitely the way to go - about a tablespoon of salt tossed around one long English cucumber or three smallish Kirbys; then drained. I squeeze extra water off of them after about a half hour, then dress them with sesame oil, Chinkiang, crushed garlic, and a bit of sugar to balance.

Do you think the chili-peanut version you're trying to create has any vinegar? If not, I would just proceed by tossing roasted, crushed peanuts to the drained cucumbers, and dressing it with chili oil. Letting that sit for a little while more will probably meld the flavours.

Either way, let us know if you're successful in recreating this dish. I've never had it, but it sounds great.

[Will]

I think Persian cucumbers seem to give the best result for this dish, at least based on what's usually available at Chinese markets here in the LA area. I've seen lots of regional variations of this dish.

I've seen cucumber and peanut dishes at a lot of restaurants, but I don't know if I've ever seen them together.

[ayanamidreamsequence]

In Chongqing I have had the salted cucumber in slices, in chili oil with hua jiao, garlic etc, which is really nice. Here in Wuhan, we tend to get a fresh cucumber more like the one in kake's picture, whacked into irregular large chunks, with chili flakes, garlic, a bit of oil and black vinegar. They do basically the same dish with snails, lotus root, mao dou and more, all very nice. Have not had either with roasted peanuts, but they could easily be tossed in.