Pickling Cucumbers

This past week's share included some pickling cucumbers, a.k.a. "pickles" or just plain "cucumbers." Compared to the typical cucumber you can find year-round in the produce section of your local grocery store, "pickling cucumbers" have thinner skins that make them ideal for soaking up the briny goodness of a basic pickling liquid. They are much shorter and smaller than their English cousins, and also sport numerous bumps or "warts" on their outer skin. But don't let their appearance or their name fool you: pickling cucumbers may be used just like regular cucumbers. You can slice them into salads, grate them for a killer tzatziki, or eat them au naturel.

Today, I decided to use my pickling cucumbers to make a classic Korean side dish that dresses cucumber slices in a sweet, tangy vinaigrette made with sesame oil and rice vinegar. This cucumber salad is the perfect compliment to a bowl of rice topped with bulgogi, Korean BBQ Beef. But I'll be serving my cucumbers alongside the burgers that my husband is grilling for our Fourth of July cookout....

Korean Cucumber Salad

- 4 Pickling Cucumbers, thinly sliced

- 1/2 tsp of Salt

- 1 Tbsp of Rice Vinegar

- 1 tsp of Sesame Oil

- 1 tsp of Sugar

- 1 tsp of Sesame Seeds

- 1/8 tsp of Minced Garlic

In a bowl, mix the cucumber slices and salt; let sit for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, sesame seeds and minced garlic.

Rinse cucumber slices in cold water. Next, remove excess water by placing the slices in a clean dishtowel, and squeezing gently, but with purpose. Now, add the cucumbers to the rice vinegar mixture. Allow to set for at least 5 minutes, so the flavors have time to meld.

Additional Notes:

I usually buy my rice vinegar at an Asian market, but if you don't want to make a special trip to China Town, you should be able to find it in the "Asian" section of any well-stocked grocery store. It's one of the few specialty ingredients that I would strongly advocate making room for in your pantry, because it's a mild, sweet vinegar that's tasty, versatile, and can be used to make sushi rice.

In most versions I've seen, the classic Korean cucumber salad, oi muchim, is made spicy through the addition of gochugaru, Korean red pepper flakes. Gochugaru is tricky to find in Cleveland, but if any Coventry Fresh Stop members want to try some, I'm happy to share a few teaspoons from the ridiculously large bag I picked up the last time I went home to Los Angeles! A little goes a long way.

Spectrum Sesame Oil is incredibly bland. Although I grew up in a household that used Kadoya brand, I had a weak moment a few months back at Whole Foods, and was seduced by the word "organic" and the pretty rainbow on the label. Big mistake. Once this bottle of Spectrum has been used up, I'm getting a bottle of Kadoya, and never looking back.