Thursday, July 26, 2007

Cucumber Salad

Thankful to finally have a kitchen back after getting all of the wedding business out of it, I want to COOK!

Since it has been hot, I've been wanting to grill, so I cheated and bought some pre-marinated Bulgogi (Korean BBQ Beef) from Trader Joes. It isn't exactly correct per what I've had at Korean restaurants but it's still tasty and very tender. To accompany the grilled meat, I of course had some Kim Chee on hand and added my own take on a Korean Cucumber Salad.

It was spicy, crisp, sweet and cool, and went perfect with the heat and sweetness of the grilled beef.

Korean 'inspired' Cucumber Salad
yields about 6 cups

1/2 cup rice vinegar
3 tablespoons Chili Paste (Sambal Oelek) - adjust for the desired heat level
1 tablespoon soy sauce
drizzle of toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons black and white sesame seeds - toasted
1 English Cucumber - washed, peel on, julienned on the bias
2 Green Onions, thinly sliced on the bias
1 Carrot, julienned
1/2 small Diakon Radish, julienned
  1. Mix together the vinegar, chili paste, soy sauce, sesame oil and sesame seeds.
  2. Mix in remaining ingredients.
  3. Cover and refrigerate at least 10 minutes. Best if left to marinade a few hours.
  4. Toss occasionally while marinating and again right before service.

This recipe made about 6 cups, which would normally be plenty for 4 people as a side, but Eric and I polished it all off in one sitting (of course).

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

The recipe sounds good. Nice and light and refreshing. Thx.

ML said...

Yum, great dish for summertime.

J said...

Yummy! Except for the kim chee...not so much.

Beenzzz said...

This looks wonderful. I think I'll make it the next time we have a cookout!

Unknown said...

OH MY GOSH!!! My Korean students would LOVE this! They've been craving Korean food, though they really like "Canadian" food (whatever that is! LOL). Today, they insisted on making lunch. They made rice with gochujang (red pepper sauce), Korean spicy tuna and seaweed. LOL! These kids want rice for breakfast, rice for lunch and rice for supper! So much for my low carb diet! LOL! I've managed to get them eating rice only once every other day or so though.

I'm soooooooo going to try your recipe. Too bad we don't have Trader Joe's here :( Too bad we don't have anywhere where I can buy bulgogi!! The nearest Korean place is off island and 2 hrs away!

Unknown said...

Hey Cherry! Me again! Just wanted to let you know I've tagged you :) Sorries!

Gina said...

Yummy!