Thursday, April 12, 2012

Asian Marinated Cucumbers


The sushi restaurant behind my house, Japon, has these wonderful little marinated cucumbers that they serve only if you're sitting at the sushi bar.  I know they couldn't be that hard to make so I tried re-creating them from some recipes I found on the web and ingredients in my pantry.  They are a great little Asian appetizer that gets better each day it marinates.

Ingredients:

-1 English Cucumber (or 2 Japanese cucumbers)
-1/4 cup rice vinegar
-2 Tbsp sesame oil
-1-2 Tbsp salt
-1 tsp sugar
-pinch - 2 Tbsp crushed red pepper flakes (depending on how much kick you want)


First, wash, pat dry, and thinly slice your cucumbers.  Either use a sharp knife or wider setting on a mandolin.  Put the cucumber slices in a large bowl and sprinkle with 1-2 Tbsp salt.  Just enough to cover each slice with a bit of salt.  Toss them to get evenly coated.




Let the cucumbers sit for about 15 minutes until they've absorbed some of the salt.  Place them in a colander/strainer and rinse off the salt.  Rinse out the large bowl and make the sauce.  Add 1/4 rice vinegar, 2 Tbsp sesame oil and 1 tsp sugar with a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (or more if you want them spicier!). Whisk together.  Add the cucumber back in the bowl with the sauce. Toss until evenly coated.



Place them in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or overnight before serving.  You want them to chill and absorb the flavors.  After a few days in the fridge there will begin to be a lot of liquid in the bottom of the tupperware.  You can either leave it there and use a slotted spoon to remove the cucumbers or pour it out.

Enjoy this light snack day after day or devour them as an appetizer for an Asian themed dinner-party.


15 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting this - could you tell me, do you drain the cucumber once you've tossed it in the vinegar mixture, or do you leave the cucumber slices in the vinegar while it's in the fridge?

    Many thanks.

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    1. Tinkergirl, leave the cucumbers in the vinegar dressing. It will soak in the flavors in the fridge!

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  2. We have marinated carrots, radishes, turnips, and beets along with ever plate of arabic hummus!!! :) glad to find u!!

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  3. The sesame oil seems to be omitted from the prep...haven't tried the cucumbers yet as they are marinating but I did add the oil to the sauce...

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    1. Stella, thanks for pointing that out! I will edit the post. Appreciate the feedback!!

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  4. OK - I make this over. and over. and over! Everytime I go to a bbq (travels GREAT!) or just want a healthy snack, I whip this up. Everyone loves it, I love it, thank you SO much for posting!

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  5. What is the measument for the vinegar.1/4 cup or TBS?

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  6. I accidently made thse too salty an yway to get rid of some of the salt? Rinse em again in water, but I already marinated them. Kinda lost as to what to do now, any ideas?? thanks!

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  7. I would just rinse them again. You won't loose al of the marinate flavor, but may decrease the salinity a bit.

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    1. thanks will try that, appreciate it alot!

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  8. Wow, hit publish & my comment disappeared! Anyway, I still make this all the time, and had an idea. What about putting a larger firmer cucumber into the spiralizer (like zucchini noodles) and then doing the same recipe? I'm imagining a cool summer side dish that twirls on a fork.... mmm... think it will work?

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  9. These cucumbers look delicious! How long would they last in the fridge? Do you think I could leave them soaking in vinegar for a couple of weeks? I have cucumbers now but I'm having a party in 3 weeks which would go down perfectly. Thank you for sharing and inspiring me

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    1. Hi Miss Food Fairy! I think the owner of this blog may have missed your comment, but I've made these SO many times (I adore them, they are a staple) and I think they would be too wet in 3 weeks. Hate to say it! But, judging by the date, I think you already had your party! Hope it worked out.... I thank the author of this blog every time I make these. Everyone loves them & knows they will see them at our house!

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  10. Salt is is employed to leach the water out of the cucumbers. In the past, I have done this, but instead of rinsing them I would just blot the cucumbers with paper towels'; I fore go this step.

    I used organic apple cider vinegar, in lieu of rice vinegar, as that is all I had. I added some horse radish, sesame seeds, and a little sirachi sauce and soy sauce. I also added some thin sliced vidalia onions/

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Looks good? Made it? Wanna try it? Leave me a Comment...I love them!