When you think of cucumbers, what kinds of food do you think about first? We might think about a salad with fresh, crispy cucumbers. Or maybe you thought of sweet and sour cucumber pickles. Did anybody think about fried cucumbers? When I first heard the name “stir-fried cucumbers,” it was totally new to me and sounded a little strange. However, once I made a Korean cucumber stir-fry dish, I was attracted by the taste and unique texture. So, I will share my tasty recipe with you today. I’m going to use this cucumber side dish for my lunch box post next, so check it out too. 🙂
Yield: 1 Cup
Short Korean Lesson
- DaeJang (대장) = Large Intestine
- SoJang (소장) = Small Intestine
Video Instructions
The recipe starts at 1:57
Main Ingredients:
- 2 Cups Cucumber (½ lb)
- ½ Generous tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Garlic, Minced
- 1 tsp Sesame Oil
- ½ tsp Sesame Seeds
Directions
Obtain 1 seedless cucumber. Decoratively peel half of the skin off in strips, lengthwise.
Slice the cucumber very thinly into about 1/16 inch slices.
Sprinkle ½ generous tsp of salt over the cucumber and mix everything together.
Set it aside for about 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, the cucumbers will be soft. Squeeze out most of the liquid from the salted cucumbers. (I did not rinse the salted cucumbers in water.)
Discard the liquid.
Add 1 tsp of sesame oil in a heated nonstick pan.
Add the cucumbers and 1 tsp of minced garlic.
Fry it for about 3 minutes on high. Occasionally stir it.
After 3 minutes, turn off the heat and sprinkle ½ tsp of sesame seeds on top. Put this cucumber side-dish in a glass container, once it is cooled down, keep it in the refrigerator.
It is done. 🙂 The fresh cucumber flavor turns into a nutty and pleasantly salty flavor with the sesame oil. The texture is a soft crunch, so it’s fun to chew. It tastes good both warm and cool, so if you are going to use it for later (for bibimbap, a side-dish for your lunch box, or just as a side for dinner), store it in the refrigerator. This will be good to enjoy for up to a week.
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