Crisp cucumber strips with bold, numbing Sichuan heat.
A lonely cucumber cut into strips, seasoned with salt and chili—nothing special! But after a quick toss in a hot wok, it releases a magical aroma, and this cucumber is no longer lonely!
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
2 cucumbers
Seasonings
dried chili peppers, to taste
a small pinch of Sichuan peppercorns
2 g salt
1 clove garlic
a small amount of white sugar
Use fresh, high-quality, thick-fleshed dried chilies from the current year's harvest for the fullest aroma.
Instructions
Instructions
Preparation
Step 1: Remove the seeds from the dried chili peppers and cut them into small sections (Image 2); slice the garlic; cut the cucumber into small strips, toss with salt, and let sit for 2-3 minutes to marinate (Image 3).
*Remove the center core of the cucumber, including the seeds, as it contains too much water and is not ideal for this dish.
*After tossing the cucumber strips with salt, do not marinate them for too long—just 2 to 3 minutes until moisture appears on the surface.
*The only source of saltiness in this dish is the salt itself, so be generous when salting the cucumber strips during the marinating process, as some salt will be drawn out with the water that seeps from the cucumber surface; if you use too little salt during marinating, the final dish won't be salty enough.
Stir-fry the seasonings until fragrant.
② Pour an appropriate amount of oil into the wok, first add Sichuan peppercorns and fry over medium heat until they turn brown (Image 4), then increase the heat to high, add the dried chili segments and quickly stir-fry until they become deep brown (Image 5).
Quick-fried cucumber strips with hot oil dressing
Add the salted cucumber strips and garlic slices, along with a pinch of sugar, and stir-fry over high heat for just 5 seconds before removing from the pan (see image 6). Best served at room temperature.
*This dish requires very quick cooking—remove it from the pan before the cucumber cooks through. If stir-fried too long, the cucumber will release its water and turn soft and limp. Therefore, it's recommended to place the sliced garlic and sugar directly on top of the cucumber strips and add everything to the pan together, so you don't slow down the cooking process.
*The reason for flash-frying the cucumber in hot oil is to infuse the surface with the aromatic fragrance of the spices, not to cook or heat the cucumber through. Many friends ask why not just toss it with chili oil instead of stir-frying it in the pan—the key is right here: the aromatic flavor released by flash-frying simply cannot be achieved with cold mixing!
For the hot oil toss method (qiang), you need high heat and hot oil—when the vegetables hit the wok, they should make a loud sizzling "whoosh" sound for success. It may get a bit smoky, but that's essential for the fragrant aroma!
