Smashed Cucumber Salad - Summer Recipe

Prep Time: 10 mins | Cook Time: 5 mins | Total Time: 15 mins

This delicious, refreshing salad is the perfect summer recipe and only takes 5 minutes to prepare. The ingredients are simple, and yet this salad is packed with flavour and is full of health benefits. This Yin salad is perfect for summer - the most Yang season of the year. In Chinese Medicine, cucumbers are loaded with medicinal benefits - they build Yin, are hydrating and are beneficial for many health conditions.

INGREDIENTS

2 cucumbers
1 small bunch coriander - cut into 1-inch pieces, saving some for garnish
¼ red bell pepper - shredded
1 tsp sugar
1 pinch salt
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp chilli oil
1 tbsp vinegar
3 cloves garlic - grated

DIRECTIONS

Peel the cucumbers and cut the ends off. Cut the cucumbers down the center lengthwise into 3-4 pieces.
Place cucumber pieces into a ziplock bag and smash (gently) with a rolling pin or another heavy object. Remove from bag and cut into bite-sized pieces. Put all into a large bowl.
Sprinkle cucumber with salt, mix well and set aside for 10 minutes. Then discard the liquid.
Add coriander, shredded bell pepper and the rest of the ingredients. Still well, garnish with a bit of coriander and enjoy!

TIP

If you want to increase the fibre content of this salad, then leave the skins on the cucumbers. Just be sure to wash them well first. Depending on where they come from, cucumber skins can be covered in wax or have harmful pesticides, so be sure to wash them thoroughly if you are going to leave the peels on.

CHINESE MEDICINE HEALTH BENEFITS

In Chinese Medicine cucumbers have a huge number of healing properties. They are particularly good for soothing any skin swellings or irritations because of their high content of silica, vitamin C and caffeic acid which are important components of connective tissue. Cucumbers also quench thirst, calm irritability, combat oedema as well as treat jaundice, diarrhoea and even epilepsy. A slice of cucumber is able to take the sting out of a bug bite, and cucumber juice is an excellent prescription for glowing healthy skin because of its high water content, and its ability to hydrate the skin - the body’s largest organ. This is one of the reasons why in Chinese Medicine, food IS medicine. :)

Delicious featured image from The Splendid Table.org