Recently while visit our son in San Diego we dined at Din Tai Fung, a world renowned Taiwanese restaurant (now chain) that specializes in soup dumplings and noodles. The restaurant has been awarded the Michelin star 5 times, and is recognized as one of the best dim sum eateries in the world. Their signature dish, xiaolongbao is a must try. However, my daughter in law insisted we try the Cucumber salad as an appetizer as she had heard rave reviews about them. We were not disappointed!!! We were addicted!!! Thankfully she found a copycat recipe online that I must share with you so anyone who loves asian food and cucumbers will not miss out on this delectable, low-fat, healthy appetizer, salad, or side dish.
Ingredients
8 Persian cucumbers (or snacking seedless cucumbers) sliced into ½ inch thick pieces
1 ½ Tablespoons kosher salt
Dressing
3 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 ½ Tablespoons mirin
1 ½ Tablespoons sesame oil
3 cloves garlic grated or minced
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Add sliced cucumbers to a small bowl, sprinkle with 1 ½ Tablespoons of kosher salt and toss to combine. Let sit 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Rinse the salt off the cumbers and pat dry.
For the dressing, whisk the dressing ingredients in small bowl and set aside.
Toss the rinsed and dried cucumbers with the dressings and let marinade for 2 hours, up to 2 days.
To serve, taste for seasoning and add additional salt if needed. Drizzle with chili oil and thinly sliced fresno chiles (optional). Serve chilled.
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