Asian Style Cucumber Salad

This is another of my favourite summer salads.  Cucumbers are practically in glut this time of year, but I can’t get inspired to do any preserving.  One year I made dozens of jars of bread-and-butter cucumbers, but by the time cucumber season finished I was quite happy to leave them un-opened.  By the time I started to feel like cucumber again, the season had come round again.  They sat very decoratively on a shelf for several years.

Now I try very hard to discipline myself to plant only one cucumber vine each fruiting planting break throughout spring and summer.  That way I have continuity of supply all season, and I still end up giving lots away.

The Recipe

This recipe uses 2 continental cucumbers. They need to be sliced lengthways very fine.  I use the broad blade on my grater, and to get the green edges, I grate the cucumber lengthways, and discard the first and last slices, and, if the middle is too seedy, a couple of middle slices too.

• Put the sliced cucumbers in a colander, sprinkle with a dessertspoon of salt, and leave to drain for about half an hour.
• Toast 2 dessertspoons of sesame seeds in a heavy pan, shaking to get an even toast.
• Finely slice half a red onion.
• Make a dressing by blending together
  • 1 or 2 chilis (depending on how hot they are)
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • a thumb sized knob of fresh ginger
  • 4 or 5 leaves of culantro or sprigs of coriander
  • several drops of sesame oil
  • 4 dessertspoons of lime cordial
  • 1 dessertspoon of fish sauce
• Rinse the cucumber in fresh water, drain well, pat dry, and toss with the sliced onion, toasted sesame seeds, and dressing.

This salad holds relatively well, so it’s a good one to take to a barbeque or make ahead of time.  Goes really well with barbequed fish.