Cucumber Chinese Cold Dish
Chinese appetizers often feature "cold dishes", which gets the special distinction for being served cold. Of course, in western cuisine where cold food is a lot more common, such as distinction would not make much sense. Nonetheless, for a culinary style that marginalizes anything cold, this modern appetizer will surely make a lasting impression in your dinner serving.
Materials
Ingredients:
- Cucumber
- lemon/lime juice
- garlic
- peanuts (peeled)
Additional seasoning:
- vinegar
- soy sauce
- roasted sesame oil
- coriander seed
Prep the Peanuts
In a warm frying pan:
- roast peanuts at medium low heat for 5 minutes, turn heat off and leave in pan for 2 more minutes.
- transfer to a mortar;
- grind to small peanut chunks.
Making the Sauce
In mixing bowl:
- Mix vinegar, soy sauce, and sesame oil in 4:2:1 amount.
- finely dice 2 cloves of garlic.
In a hot pan:
- add 2 tablespoon vegetable oil;
- toss in coriander seeds / szechuan pepper until the flavor is ripe;
- add in garlic to the pan, but remove pan from heat right after;
- move contents in pan to the mixing bowl.
Cut Cucumber and Finish Up
- Cut cucumber into 1 inch long segments;
- slice the cucumber vertically into 3 pieces;
- stack the cucumber into serving plate;
- sprinkle crushed peanut over the plate;
- cover evenly with the sauce;
- serve and enjoy!