How to make cucumber salad taste good

The key to making cucumber cold salad lies in maintaining a crispy and tender taste and fully immersing the flavor. There are five key points: material selection, patting techniques, seasoning ratio, ingredient combination, and pickling time.

1. Material Selection

Choose fresh and smooth tender cucumbers with dense thorns and no soft spots on the skin, preferably with a diameter of about 3 centimeters. Old cucumber seeds have a lot of loose flesh, and when mixed cold, they tend to produce water and become fluffy. Organic cucumbers do not need to be peeled, while regular cucumbers can be made with salt washed and peeled to retain more dietary fiber and fragrance.

2. Beating Techniques

Use the back of the knife to vertically crack the cucumber instead of cutting it into pieces. When tapping, press down on the head and tail of the cucumber, and apply force from the middle to both ends to make the cucumber crack into irregular strips. This processing method increases the surface area by 30% compared to knife cutting, and the rough section is more prone to juice retention, while also damaging some cell walls and releasing fragrant substances.

III. Seasoning ratio

The basic sauce is prepared in a ratio of 15g garlic powder, 10ml soy sauce, 8ml vinegar, 5g sugar, and 3ml sesame oil. For heavy flavors, you can add spicy millet, and for sour ones, squeeze in lemon juice. Sugar can neutralize astringency, and sesame oil forms a coating to prevent water from flowing out. It is important to avoid adding salt too early, which can cause dehydration.

IV. Ingredients matching

black fungus silk increases crispness, fried peanuts enhance aroma, and Rolls of dried bean milk creams section absorbs sauce. The advanced version can add hand torn chicken breast or chilled Arctic scallops. When pairing meat and vegetables, the meat should be seasoned separately to avoid cross contamination. It is advisable for the volume of all ingredients not to exceed one-third of the cucumber.

Fifth, marinating time

Freshly mixed and eaten can best maintain crispness. If marinating is required, refrigerate for no more than 30 minutes. Long term soaking can make cucumbers brittle. You can take a step-by-step approach: first mix in dry seasonings, then pour the sauce over the table. Filter out the bottom broth before plating, and drizzle a little fresh sauce to enhance the flavor.

It is recommended to refrigerate cucumbers for 2 hours before making them in summer, as they are more crispy and refreshing at low temperatures. When processing, ceramic or glassware may be used, and metal pots may undergo oxidation reactions that affect the flavor. People with spleen and stomach deficiency cold can use ginger juice instead of raw garlic, and patients with diabetes can use erythritol instead of white sugar. Serve with mung bean Congee to balance the pungency of garlic, and drink some green tea after meals to help decompose oil.