14. Asian Cucumber Ribbon Salad (p. 142)

The idea of this salad is long, lightly-dressed strands of paper-thin juicy cucumber slices. Sounds great, and it might have worked out better if I had a proper mandoline.

Instead, I have the "As Seen on TV" Super Slicer that my mother-in-law bought in a moment of infomercial - watching weakness.

The Super Slicer is actually a surprisingly useful gadget. I used it to slice potatoes for the Gratin Dauphinois in MtAoFC with great success. But, despite the claims of the infomercial hosts, "paper-thin" slices is something that the Super Slicer just doesn't do.

As a result, my cucumber slices were more like 1/4 inch than the 1/8 inch called for in The Book, they were much more rigid than the effect I think I was aiming for. So, I sliced them lengthwise and made something more properly referred to a cucumber "noodles" than "ribbons."

This recipe is the epitome of "cool as a cucumber." It's as light and refreshing as can be. The half-teaspoon of sesame oil in the dressing is just the right amount to give the salad a nice toastyness and silky feel without having a too intense sesame flavor. I'll make this recipe again once I get the right equipment, but I think that I'll skip the unnecessarily fussy step of heating the vinegar and sugar.

One last note, The Book says not to let the dressed salad sit for more than 20 minutes or else it will get soggy. However, we had some salad leftover, and we put it in the fridge. I ate it as a snack a couple days later, and it was still crisp and delicious.

Date Cooked: June 29, 2008
Degree of Difficulty: Easy
Rating: B