redux vegetable lux :::: 
The first rule of blogging is to never repeat a blog entry, lest you bore your readers and look like a doofus for blabbering endlessly about one thing. In my case, I’m going to break that rule, just a little. When I blogged about the bulgogi-style tofu with cucumbers and rice on the side, I felt the sesamed cucumber recipe kind of got lost, pushed aside, and was overwhelmingly underappreciated. I am reblogging, but casting aside the tofu this time, allowing the cucumbers their time in the limelight. They are just that good.
I recently just made these again, always cursing myself for not making more. I ate most of them alone, without rice or the fiery tofu, perfectly happy to call the wrinkled cukes my salad for the meal.
One year ago: miso-glazed eggplant
Two years ago: rainbow cookies (New York-style)
- Persian cucumbers (I used 775 g = 27 ounces), or other small seedless cucumbers
- 2½ tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
- Wash cucumbers well.
- Using your trusty mandolin (or a painstakingly steady knife and lots of time and patience), slice thinly. I used my 1.3 mm setting on my mandolin.
- Add 2½ tablespoons kosher salt to sliced cucumbers, mix well and allow to sit for 30-40 minutes.
- Add water to cover and place in refrigerator overnight.
- Rinse well and squeeze out moisture with thick cheesecloth (or clean tea towel).
- Season with sesame oil, honey, vinegar, garlic, and sesame seeds. You may want to add a little salt, depending on how much you rinsed it off earlier (but it will pull out some of the moisture).
- Chill. Lasts for 1 week in the fridge.
