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Recipe Detail Page
Spiral Cucumber Salad with Cilantro, Peanuts and Fish Sauce Dressing
Early Summer 2024
Cutting mini cukes into trendy spirals allows them to absorb more dressing and catch bits of peanut, chili and cilantro in their accordion-like folds. The sweet, sour and savoury dressing is inspired by the Vietnamese dipping sauce nuoc cham. Salting the cukes beforehand is an important step; it draws out some of the water in the cukes, so the dressing isn’t diluted.
Serves 6
DRESSING
1 small garlic clove, grated on rasp
2 tbsp (30 mL) granulated sugar
1 tbsp (15 mL) sriracha sauce
2 tbsp (30 mL) fresh lime juice
2 tbsp (30 mL) rice vinegar
3 tbsp (45 mL) fish sauce
3 tbsp (45 mL) vegetable oil
SALAD
2 pkgs (397 g each) mini cucumbers, about 10 in total
Salt to taste
1 fresh red finger chili, thinly sliced
1 green onion, thinly sliced
3 tbsp (45 mL) chopped cilantro
1/3 cup (80 mL) chopped dry-roasted peanuts
1. For the dressing, whisk ingredients in a bowl until sugar is dissolved. Transfer to an airtight container. Refrigerate up to 3 days.
2. For the salad, lay a cucumber between two chopsticks. Make crosswise slices down into the cucumber at 1/8-inch (3-mm) intervals—the chopsticks will stop the knife from going through. Rotate cucumber 180 degrees. Slice down on a 45-degree angle at 1/8-inch (3-mm) intervals. Place in a large bowl and season generously with salt, gently mixing to combine. (It’s okay of some of spirals break.) Let stand 20 to 30 minutes.
3. Rinse cucumbers in several changes of cold water. Drain, pat dry with paper towel and transfer to a shallow serving dish. Sprinkle with chili and green onion. Shake dressing, pour over cucumbers and gently toss to coat. Sprinkle with cilantro and peanuts. Serve immediately.
Serves 6
