Sunomono (Cucumber Salad) Recipe – Japanese Cooking 101

Sunomono is a very simple, but very tasty Japanese side dish. It is healthy and refreshing, so it can accompany any main dish. Its combination of tangy and sweet tastes makes it unique and fun. Sunomono is made with Japanese cucumbers, that are skinnier than American ones and have smaller seeds and thinner skin.

Ingredients:

• 3 cucumbers
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame seeds

Instructions:

Slice cucumbers as thin as possible.
Add them to a bowl and stir in salt.
Let it sit for five minutes.
Mix rice vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce in a small bowl until sugar dissolves.
Squeeze water out of cucumbers.
Add vinegar mixture and mix well.
Add sesame seeds and mix well.

Tips and ideas:

If you cannot find Japanese cucumbers, you can use English or Persian ones. Persian cucumbers are especially similar to Japanese ones.

If you like seaweed (Wakame), you can add it to this salad.

Images – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OhJiDBxEGI

Cucumber Kimchi

Kimchi is a Korean side dish usually made from fermented vegetables. There are many varieties available, the most familiar one for the non-Korean people probably being the one with the salted napa cabbage. However, the version mentioned in this recipe is one of the few that do not have to ferment to be great, which means you can enjoy it as soon as you make it.

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds kirby cucumbers (9 or 10 cucumbers) or 4 4½ inch long small, thin cucumbers
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 1 cup buchu (Asian chives), chopped into ½ inch pieces
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium carrot, cut into thin matchsticks (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup onion, sliced thinly
• ½ cup mild hot pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Instructions:

Wash the cucumbers.
Slice them lengthwise twice under the right angle starting about 1/2 inch from one end and going all the way to the other, so the quarters are still connected at one side.
Put the cucumbers in a big bowl, sprinkle and rub the salt inside and out of them.
Let them sit for 10 minutes and then turn them over so they are evenly salted (the salty water that comes out of them will be all on the bottom of the bowl), then let them sit for another 10 minutes.
Chop buchu, onion, and carrot. Crush and mince garlic, then add them to the bowl.
Mix in the seasonings – mild hot pepper flakes, fish sauce, sugar.
Add the water and the sesame seeds. Mix well with a wooden spoon.
Rinse the cucumbers in cold water to remove excess salt.
Drain them and stuff with seasoning mix.

Tips and ideas:

You can serve kimchi immediately as a side dish for rice and keep the leftovers in the refrigerator. But if you prefer it being a bit fermented, leave the container with it at room temperature for a couple of days, so it will taste a little bit sour and pickled. Then put it into the refrigerator and serve cold.

You can also make a soup to go with it. But not the spicy one, because the kimchi is spicy enough by itself.

If you have sensitive skin, wear rubber gloves while filling the cucumbers with the kimchi paste, because the paste might irritate your hands.

Images – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApQUENQbgiY

Quick Pickles – Everyday Food With Sarah Carey

Pickling is one of the oldest methods of food preservation. Before the development of refrigeration, fruits, vegetables, meats, and even seafood were pickled so they could be stored and consumed for longer periods of time. Aside from the advantage of food preservation, pickled food surprisingly has amazing health benefits. It has a good supply of essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and probiotics which help control diabetes, improve digestion, protect the liver, and heal ulcers. Although canned or jarred pickles are conveniently available in any grocery store, they may contain food additives or synthetic preservatives which can harm one’s health.

With this quick pickle recipe, you can have a classic bread and butter pickle chips ready in just 2 hours. These pickles are healthy, sweet, tangy, and mildly spicy and are perfect in your favorite sandwiches, as a side dish or a gift to your family and friends. You can even use the same brine recipe for any other vegetables you want to pickle.

Ingredients:

This recipe takes about 90 minutes to make. The pickles need to be refrigerated for at least 2 hours before serving. Serves 3 ⅓cups of pickles.

• 2 English cucumbers
• 1 ½ cups of fresh dill fronds
• 1 tbsp coarse salt

Brine:
• 3 cups of white vinegar
• 1 ½ cups of white sugar
• 2 tsp coarse salt
• ½ tsp mustard seed
• ½ tsp celery seed
• ⅛ tsp ground turmeric

Instructions:

Slice the English cucumbers into ⅛-inch thick rounds.
Put the cucumber slices in a strainer with a bowl at the bottom.
Sprinkle salt on top and toss them well.
Leave the salted cucumbers on the counter for at least an hour or up to 3 hours in the fridge.
Discard the liquid from the bowl and wash the cucumber thoroughly to remove any salt.
Put the cucumbers in a jar, layering alternately with fresh dill fronds.
To make the brine, put vinegar, white sugar, salt, mustard seeds, celery seeds, and ground turmeric in a saucepan.
Boil over medium-high heat while stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved.
Pour the brine into the jar with the cucumbers and dill fronds making sure the vegetables are completely submerged in the brine.
Cool to room temperature before sealing the jar with a lid.
Keep the jar in the refrigerator for about 2 hours before serving.

Ideas And Tips:

If you want to lessen the sweetness of the brine, just use half of the sugar.

If you want more spice, you can add 2 to 4 chopped red chilies or 1 tsp chili flakes to the brine.

You can keep the pickles in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.

You can pickle other vegetables like radishes, carrots, peppers, beans, onions, cauliflower, asparagus, beets, turnips, okra, zucchini or bitter melons.

images – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVvqR4UMqN0