Easy to assemble but far from basic, this cucumber salad delivers a riot of flavors and textures with snappy cucumbers, velvety peanut sauce, crunchy cilantro-peanut topping and zingy chile oil. The details make all the difference: First, salting the cucumbers mutes the fruit’s subtly bitter notes while heightening flavor. Next, the simple peanut sauce adds richness to the cool cucumbers. (Make a large batch and store it in the fridge to drizzle over vegetables, chicken and salads.) Finally, a flurry of finely chopped peanuts, cilantro and red-pepper flakes gets dusted over the salad in layers to disperse flavor.
Ingredients
Yield: 2 to 4 servings
- 6 Persian cucumbers (about 1 pound), cut lengthwise into thin spears, then cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces
- ¼ cup salted, roasted peanuts
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves
- 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoons natural unsalted peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar or fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 small garlic clove, grated
- Chile oil, store-bought or homemade, for serving (optional)
Preparation
- Toss cucumbers with ½ teaspoon kosher salt in a colander. Set aside to drain.
- Chop peanuts, cilantro and red-pepper flakes together until very fine. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, and garlic. Add up to 1 tablespoon water, if needed to thin mixture. Transfer salted cucumbers to the bowl with dressing and toss to coat.
- To serve, place half the cucumber salad on the plate, sprinkle with half the peanut mixture. Repeat with the remaining cucumber salad and peanut mixture. Drizzle with chile oil, if using, and serve immediately.
source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020217-cucumber-salad-with-roasted-peanuts-and-chile
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
- 152 calories
- 11 grams fat
- 2 grams saturated fat
- 0 grams trans fat
- 5 grams monounsaturated fat
- 3 grams polyunsaturated fat
- 10 grams carbohydrates
- 2 grams dietary fiber
- 5 grams sugars
- 6 grams protein
- 446 milligrams sodium