For the next few posts, we are going to be worshipping at the temple of the great god
guā
瓜 guā (Mand: guā; Cant: gwaa1) is a multi-purpose Chinese word covering all gourds, squashes and melons. It does not differentiate between what we think of as fruits or vegetables. All types of melon are 瓜, as are pumpkins etc. (Yes, I know. Technically, they are all fruits.)
First up, I'm going to start with one of the easiest.
黄瓜 (Mand: huáng guā; Cant: wong4 gwaa1) literally means 'yellow gua'. It is Cucumis sativus, the plain old cucumber. What makes them yellow, I have no idea.
These are widely used in Chinese cuisine, but seldom raw. They are usually cooked, if even for only a few seconds. There are a number of Chinese "salads" using cucumber, but even in most of those the cuke is heated through at the very least.
One exception is the Sichuan classic, smacked cucumbers. Recipes galore online.
Smacked cucumber
In this salad from a supermarket salad bar, though, the cucumber has been briefly cooked.
We also get these. Usually described as 白黄瓜 (Mand: bái huáng guā; Cant: baak6 wong4 gwaa1), literally white cucumber. I have also seen them as 果黄瓜 (Mand: guǒ huáng guā; Cant: gwo2 wong4 gwaa1), fruit cucumber, but less frequently.
The more bulbous ones at the top of the picture. The thinner ones are something else I'll get to later.
They do have a whiter flesh and taste a little sweeter. Otherwise, the same.
Pickled cucumber is also widely available as are miniature cucumbers for either eating or pickling yourself.
