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Why It Works
- Salting the cucumbers attracts out extra moisture and seasons them totally, preserving them crisp and stopping the dressing from turning watery.
- Utilizing English cucumbers eliminates the necessity for peeling, and their tender, almost seedless interiors make them well-suited for uncooked salads.
This cucumber salad is loud in all the best methods. Impressed by the punchy, layered flavors of pad Thai, it leans into depth: nutty peanut butter, pleasantly pungent fish sauce, shiny lime juice, and just a little kick of warmth. However it’s not all about energy strikes—the cucumbers maintain their very own and produce steadiness, including cool crunch and refreshing distinction to each chew.
Gentle however satisfying, cooling but complicated, this salad strikes a great steadiness. It is glorious by itself, however even higher as a aspect for noodle dishes, grilled hen, steak, or something sizzling off the grill.
Critical Eats/ Frederick Hardy II, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley, Meals Stylist: Margaret Dickey
What makes this salad sing is how the cucumbers are ready. Our colleague Giovanna Vazquez, from our Birmingham, Alabama, take a look at kitchen, got down to keep away from the standard cucumber salad pitfalls: bland taste, greens that flip soggy minutes after being dressed, and the ensuing watery dressing that additional soggies issues out. Since cucumbers are largely water, as soon as they’re tossed with a salted dressing, they’re infamous for diluting flavors, thinning sauces, and softening shortly.
The repair is a brilliant, easy step: salting. Salting your cucumbers for salads is a way we at Critical Eats have advocated for a few years. Begin by tossing the cucumbers with salt and allow them to sit for 10 minutes. This attracts out their extra moisture and seasons them right through. After a fast pat dry, you are left with slices that keep crisp and carry the dressing with out watering it down.
The dressing is what ties every thing collectively. It is creamy, wealthy, salty-sweet, and simply funky sufficient. A mix of easy peanut butter, lime juice, vinegar, brown sugar, and fish sauce builds a posh base, whereas garlic provides chew, sesame oil provides depth, and chopped cilantro retains issues contemporary. A last handful of roasted peanuts brings a savory crunch to each forkful.
Fast to make, and layered with flavors and textures, it is a refreshing salad that deserves a everlasting spot in your warm-weather dinner rotation.
This recipe was developed by Giovanna Vazquez; the headnote was written by Laila Ibrahim.
This Zesty Cucumber-Salad Packs a Daring Punch
Cook dinner Mode
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2 massive English cucumbers (1 1/2 kilos; 680 g complete), sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds (see notes)
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1 1/2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided; for desk salt, use half as a lot by quantity
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3 tablespoons creamy, unsweetened peanut butter (see notes)
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3 tablespoons (45 ml) contemporary lime juice (from 2 small limes), plus lime wedges for serving
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1 packed tablespoon gentle brown sugar, (about 1/2 ounce; 14 g)
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1 tablespoon (15 ml) unseasoned rice vinegar
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1 tablespoon (15 ml) fish sauce
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1 massive garlic clove, minced
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1/4 cup (60 ml) untoasted sesame oil
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2 small carrots, peeled, (4 ounces; 57 g complete) and shredded on the biggest holes of a field grater (about 1 cup packed)
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2 medium scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
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1/2 cup chopped contemporary cilantro (1/2 ounce; 14 g)
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1 small (18 g) Fresno or jalapeño chile, seeded and finely chopped
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1/2 cup salted, roasted peanuts (2 1/2 ounces; 70 g), chopped, divided
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In a big bowl, add cucumbers and 1 teaspoon kosher salt; toss to mix. Switch cucumbers to a colander and set over now-empty bowl. Put aside for 10 minutes.
Critical Eats/ Frederick Hardy II, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley, Meals Stylist: Margaret Dickey
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In the meantime, in a medium bowl, whisk peanut butter, lime juice, brown sugar, vinegar, fish sauce, garlic, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt till easy. Slowly whisk in sesame oil till emulsified; put aside.
Critical Eats/ Frederick Hardy II, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley, Meals Stylist: Margaret Dickey
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Pat cucumbers dry with paper towels or a clear kitchen towel. Discard any collected liquid in bowl. Switch cucumbers again into now-empty massive bowl.
Critical Eats/ Frederick Hardy II, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley, Meals Stylist: Margaret Dickey
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Add carrots, scallions, cilantro, fresno or jalapeño, 1/4 cup peanuts, and half of the reserved peanut-lime dressing to bowl with cucumbers; toss to mix.
Critical Eats/ Frederick Hardy II, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley, Meals Stylist: Margaret Dickey
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Switch cucumber combination to a big serving bowl or platter. Prime with remaining 1/4 cup peanuts and drizzle with remaining dressing. Serve instantly with lime wedges.
Critical Eats/ Frederick Hardy II, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley, Meals Stylist: Margaret Dickey
Gear
Field grater, colander
Notes
1 1/2 kilos of Persian cucumbers can be utilized instead of the English cucumbers. There is no must peel them as their skins are skinny and tender.
If the peanut butter has separated, stir it properly earlier than making the dressing.
Make-Forward and Storage
The peanut-lime dressing will be made prematurely and saved in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days.
The cucumber salad is greatest eaten instantly, whereas the cucumbers are nonetheless crisp.
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