Dish of Thai Cucumber Salad #1
(click to enlarge)

Thai Cucumber Salad #1


Thailand
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 6 salad
*
20 min hrs
Note-5		 a quick, easy, cooling salad, perfect to accompany spicy dishes. It can be used with just about any cuisine.

1-1/2
1
1
2
3
1/2
1/3
#

cl
t
T
t
t
Cucumbers (1)
Red Chili (2)
Garlic
Fish Sauce (3)
Lime Juice
dried shrimp (4)  
Salt
Make:   -   (20 min)
  1. Grate CUCUMBERS on the large side of your box grater (see Note-5). Let sit a few minutes in a strainer to drain (a little pressing helps this along).
  2. Seed CHILI and chop fine. Crush GARLIC and chop very fine. Mix both with Cucumber.
  3. Grind DRIED SHRIMP to powder in your spice grinder and mix with cucumber.
  4. Squeeze LIME JUICE and mix with Fish Sauce and Salt, hold aside.
  5. Just before serving, squeeze out excess water and stir in Lime Juice mix.
NOTES:

  1. Cucumbers:

      Preferably use Persian or some other small cucumber that doesn't need to be peeled or seeded. If all you have is the standard green blimps, use about 2 pounds, peel them and seed them, then weigh them. Color and flavor will be different but it'll still be good.

  2. Red Chili:

      Around here we all use red ripe Fresnos, but Holland Red or other medium hot chilis work fine. For details see our Thai Chilis page.

  3. Fish Sauce:

      This clear liquid is as essential to Southeast Asian cuisine as it was to Imperial Rome. If you are unfamiliar with it, see our Fish Sauce - Introduction page.

  4. Dried Shrimp:

      Measure is crushed firmly into the measuring spoon. Dried shrimp (the smaller the better) are easily available in any market serving an Asian, Mexican or South American community. For details see our Dried Shrimp page.

  5. Do Ahead:

      This salad is expected to be eaten while the cucumbers have some crunch. Made with Persian cucumbers it will stay crunchy in the fridge for several hours, green blimps, a bit less. If you need it to stay crunchy longer or on the table, halve or quarter the cucumber lengthwise (depending on size) and slice thin instead of grating.
  6. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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