Szechuan-ish Cucumber Salad
i’d like to say serves 4, but two of us ate it for lunch
1 english cucumber or 4-5 small persian/japanese cucumbers, unpeeled, and cut into spears about 3-4 inches long, half to 1 inch thick
1 teaspoon salt
1 big fat garlic cloves (or two modest ones) chopped
1 teaspoon Chinese hot bean paste, or ordinary bean paste/brown bean sauce/or even miso
2 teaspoons to 1 1/2 tablespoons Szechuan chile paste, the kind that is deliciously oily–amount depends upon heat of your brand
1/2 teaspoon coarsely crushed toasted szechuan peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon wine vinegar
Toss together the cucumber, salt and garlic; mix well and leave for about an hour.
Add everthing else, mix well, and eat or chill until ready to eat.
Optional: add a spoonful of chile oil, either commercial or from the chile-oil-paste
With over 70 cookbook titles (including contributions) to her credit, Marlena conjures up flavours and dishes from the Mediterranean to Mexico, California to France to the Italian islands and single subjects such as chili peppers, olive oil, mushrooms, to a book on classic Jewish food from all over the world.