Cucumber with Garlic, Chili Oil & Szechuan Peppercorn Sauce (Suan Ni Bai Huang Gua)
- camissonia
- Oct 27
- 1 min read
I adapted this recipe from two sources: Fuchsia Dunlop's Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking and Mrs. Chiang's Szechwan Cookbook. It's a classic cold dish/appetizer which consists of sliced fresh cucumbers, minced garlic, chili oil, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar and soy sauce with the addition of ground Szechuan peppercorns, which make the flavors distinctively 'Szechuanese.' The peppercorns are uniquely 'spicy' with a numbing rather than chili-hot quality to them. The secret to helping the cucumbers absorb the flavors of the sauce is to smack the cucumbers with the flat blade of a cleaver or roll them lightly with a rolling pin before slicing.
1
Searing the Beef
Sear beef fillets on high heat for 2 minutes per side to form a golden crust. Let it cool before proceeding to keep the beef tender.
2
Mushroom Duxelles
Cook the mushrooms until all moisture evaporates to prevent soggy pastry. Aim for a thick, paste-like consistency.
3
Puff Pastry Handling
Keep the puff pastry cold to avoid softness. Chill if it becomes too soft, and score the top lightly without cutting through.
Notes
1
Place the cucumbers on a chopping board and smack with the flat side of a cleaver blade or roll with a rolling pin until the cucumbers have split slightly. Don't overdo it! Next, slice the cucumbers in half lengthwise, then cut them along the bias/diagonal into thin slices.
2
Place the cucumber slices into a shallow dish or casserole and sprinkle with 1 tsp salt. Let sit 20-30 minutes to draw out as much liquid as possible. Squeeze slices dry with your hands and blot well with paper towels.
3
Add the remaining ingredients into a small bowl and stir to combine. Pour over the cucumber slices and toss well. It is ok to serve immediately, but I like to place the cucumbers into a Ziploc-type bag, squeezing as much air out as possible, then place flat on a paper towel and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour, turning the bag a couple times, to let the flavors develop.
4
Serve cold or at room temperature.
Instructions
2 hothouse or English cucumbers
1 tsp kosher salt
2 cloves garlic minced
1 Fresno chili seeded & thinly sliced
2 tsp sesame oil
3 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
1 tbsp chili oil (Layu)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground Szechuan peppercorns
Sauce
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Cucumber with Garlic, Chili Oil & Szechuan Peppercorn (Suan Ni Bai Huang Gua)
Prep Time
10 min
Cooking Time
0 min
Rest Time
1 hour
Total Time
1 hour 10 min
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