Chinese smashed cucumber salad with garlic, vinegar and sesame oil. Chinese chicken salad dressing is one of the most popular homemade cold dishes in China, which only requires 5 minutes from preparation to table. Cucumber is really great for summer. The cool and crispy taste can help us against the hot weather.
There are many cold dishes in China which equals to salad in western centuries for example Chinese cabbage salad, cucumber salads, spicy chickens salad. Usually Elaine has two ways of making easy Chinese cucumber salad: one is to smash it directly before mixing and the other one is to pickle the cucumber slices for 1 or 2 hours. Smashed cucumber can absorb more sauce within the cucumber, as a result, having a compound and uniform taste. However pickled cucumber salad has two layers of taste. The first is the combined sauce, succeeded with a crispy and freshness from the cucumber slices.
For the cucumber, pick fresh ones and just peel the think skin off and remain some thin skins, which can help to add some extra green color and also make the smashed cucumber crisper. If you really do not like the skin, you can peel them all off. Do remember to cut the two ends off. Or if you use organic small cucumber, keep the skins and just remove the two ends. Smash the cucumber and then cut into small pieces casually. Then prepare the garlic, smash the garlic cloves too before chopping.