Smashed Cucumber Salad Takes Manhattan

The difference between a sliced cucumber salad and a smashed cucumber salad reveals itself on first bite.Sliced cucumbers have a smooth, impenetrable surface, and when you introduce them to dressing, they usually shrug it off. By contrast, smashed cucumbers are wide open: Their craggy edges and rough surfaces absorb flavors and form relationships in seconds. Smashing (or smacking) cucumbers for salad is a standard technique in many parts of Asia that is showing its trendy side in New York this summer.“It’s cool how just changing the way you break down an ingredient completely changes the way it feels and tastes,” said Danny Bowien, the chef at Mission Chinese Food. Here’s the technique: With one hand, the cook lays the blade of a knife flat on top of the cucumber, with the cucumber resting under the widest part of the blade. The heel of the other hand comes down sharply on the blade, as though the cook is smashing a garlic clove to remove its peel. (Alternatively, a wooden mallet or rolling pin can be used, as they are in Japan.)Once smashed, the cucumbers are roughly sliced or broken up with the hands - even better for removing the watery seeds - then sprinkled with salt and briefly set aside. This process softens the skin, firms the flesh and turns the peel a bright and appetizing green. It’s important to use fresh, firm-fleshed cucumbers; old soft ones will turn to mush.The Chinese staple cucumber salad, pai huang gua, is dressed with a vinaigrette of soy sauce, rice or black vinegar, garlic and sesame oil. In the North and West, chilies and sometimes Sichuan peppercorns are often added.Smashed cucumbers have long been found at local Chinese restaurants, like Xi’an Famous Foods. But this summer, they are suddenly everywhere: At Bowien’s Mexican-influenced restaurant Mission Cantina, dressed with an intensely flavored, lime-, cumin- and oregano-spiked sesame paste; at the new Untitled at the Whitney, in a dish of soba noodles, baby turnips and tuna tartare; at the Ippudo ramen restaurants, where the cucumber is lightly smashed and dressed with sesame oil and garlic. (On the menu, it is called yamitsuki goma yuri, or “addictive sesame cucumber.”)At Superiority Burger in the East Village, the craggy pieces are mixed with a fiercely tangy yogurt, drizzled with jalapeño honey and sprinkled with crushed sesame breadsticks. “There’s something about the roughness, and the variety of shapes and sizes, that you get with smashing that is incredibly satisfying,” said Julia Goldberg, a sous-chef who devised the dish with Brooks Headley, the chef and owner of Superiority Burger.Goldberg has figured out some useful tweaks to the usual method. She smashes the cucumbers inside a sealed plastic bag to keep the seeds from flying everywhere, and uses the same bag, filled with ice, as a weight on top of the draining cucumbers to make them even colder and crunchier.
“I love the idea of manipulating an ingredient with my hands instead of a knife for once,” she said.Chinese Smashed Cucumbers With Sesame Oil and Garlic
Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servingsIngredients:About 2 pounds thin-skinned cucumbers like English or Persian (8 to 10 mini cucumbers, 4 medium size or 2 large greenhouse)
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for cucumbers
2 teaspoons sugar, plus more for cucumbers
1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon grapeseed or extra-virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced or put through a press
Red pepper flakes, to taste
Small handful whole cilantro leaves, for garnish
2 teaspoons toasted white sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)Preparation:1. Rinse cucumbers and pat dry. Cut crosswise into pieces about 4 inches long. Cut each piece in half lengthwise.2. On a work surface, place a piece of cucumber (or several) cut side down. Lay the blade of a large knife flat on top of the cucumber and smash down lightly with your other hand. The skin will begin to crack, the flesh will break down and the seeds will separate. Repeat until the whole piece is smashed. Break or slice diagonally into bite-size pieces, leaving the seeds behind.3. Place the cucumber pieces in a strainer and toss with a big pinch of salt and a big pinch of sugar. Place a plastic bag filled with ice on top of the cucumbers to serve as a weight and place the strainer over a bowl. Let drain 15 to 30 minutes on the counter, or in the refrigerator until ready to serve, up to 4 hours.4. Make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine salt, sugar and rice vinegar. Stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Stir in sesame oil and soy sauce.5. When ready to serve, shake cucumbers well to drain off any remaining liquid and transfer to a serving bowl. Drizzle with grapeseed or olive oil and toss. Add half the dressing, half the garlic and the red pepper flakes to taste, and toss. Keep adding dressing until cucumbers are well coated but not drowned. Taste and add more pepper flakes and garlic if needed. Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro and sesame seeds.Smashed Cucumbers With Lime Yogurt and Spicy Honey-and-Breadstick Croutons
Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servingsIngredients:For the Salad:
About 2 pounds thin-skinned cucumbers like English or Persian (8 to 10 mini cucumbers, 4 medium size or 2 large greenhouse)
Kosher salt
Raw or sugar
1/2 cup Greek-style plain yogurt
Freshly grated zest and juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, more to taste
4 scallions, minced
For the Spicy Honey and Breadstick Croutons (Optional, for Garnish):
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2/3 cup lightly crushed sesame breadsticks (crush breadsticks in a sealed plastic bag to the size of small croutons)
Olive oil, for drizzlingPreparation:1. Rinse cucumbers and pat dry. Cut crosswise into pieces about 4 inches long. Cut each piece in half lengthwise.2. On a work surface, place a piece of cucumber (or several) cut side down. Lay the blade of a large knife flat on top of the cucumber and smash down lightly with your other hand. The skin will begin to crack, the flesh will break down and the seeds will separate. Repeat until the whole piece is smashed. Break or slice diagonally into bite-size pieces, leaving the seeds behind.3. Place the cucumber pieces in a strainer and toss with a big pinch of salt and a big pinch of sugar. Place a plastic bag filled with ice on top of the cucumbers to serve as a weight and place the strainer over a bowl. Let drain 15 to 30 minutes on the counter, or in the refrigerator until ready to serve, up to 4 hours.4. Make the dressing: In a bowl, mix yogurt, lime zest and juice, vinegar, oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper. This mixture should taste fiercely acidic and quite salty; add salt and vinegar as needed. Keep refrigerated.5. If making the spicy honey, combine hot sauce and honey in a small bowl and stir well until smooth.6. If making the croutons, toast the breadstick pieces in a toaster oven or skillet. Drizzle with olive oil and stir occasionally, until golden and crunchy.7. When ready to serve, shake cucumbers well to drain off any remaining liquid and transfer to a bowl. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and toss. Add scallions and half of the dressing and toss gently. Keep adding dressing until cucumbers are well coated but not drowned.8. Serve immediately. For each serving, scoop a large spoonful of cucumbers into a bowl, drizzle with spicy honey and sprinkle with a handful of croutons.Smashed Cucumbers With Cumin Tahini
Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servingsIngredients:For the Salad:
About 2 pounds thin-skinned cucumbers like English or Persian (8 to 10 mini cucumbers, 4 medium size or 2 large greenhouse)
Kosher salt
Raw or sugar
Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime or lemon
1 large clove garlic
1/3 cup well-stirred tahini
1 tablespoon olive oil, more for cucumbers
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds, for garnish
For the Chili Vinegar (Optional):
2 to 3 tablespoons sambal oelek or sriracha
White vinegarPreparation:1. Rinse cucumbers and pat dry. Cut crosswise into pieces about 4 inches long. Cut each piece in half lengthwise.2. On a work surface, place a piece of cucumber (or several) cut side down. Lay the blade of a large knife flat on top of the cucumber and smash down lightly with your other hand. The skin will begin to crack, the flesh will break down and the seeds will separate. Repeat until the whole piece is smashed. Break or slice diagonally into bite-size pieces, leaving the seeds behind.3. Place the cucumber pieces in a strainer and toss with a big pinch of salt and a big pinch of sugar. Place a plastic bag filled with ice on top of the cucumbers to serve as a weight and place the strainer over a bowl. Let drain 15 to 30 minutes on the counter, or in the refrigerator until ready to serve, up to 4 hours.4. Make the dressing: In a blender or small food processor, combine lime juice and garlic and blend. Add tahini and 2 tablespoons warm water and blend. Check the texture; you want a smooth, creamy liquid. If necessary, add more warm water and blend again. Add olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, the cumin and the oregano, rubbing the dried leaves between your fingers to release the flavors. Taste for salt and adjust the seasonings.5. Make the chili vinegar, if desired: Place sambal in a bowl and slowly drizzle in white vinegar, stirring to loosen. Taste often and stop adding vinegar when mixture is tart and spicy, but not enough to make your eyes water.6. When ready to serve, shake cucumbers well to drain off any remaining liquid and transfer to a bowl. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and toss. Add half the dressing, toss and taste. Keep adding dressing until cucumbers are well coated but not drowned.7. Serve immediately. For each serving, scoop a large spoonful of cucumbers into a bowl, spoon a little chili vinegar around the edges and sprinkle with sesame seeds.© 2015 New York Times News Service