RECIPE: Crushed Garlic and Cucumber Salad

This recipe comes to us from the pages of Chef Ron Hsu’s new book, Down South + East: A Chinese American Cookbook. The book showcases Chef Hsu’s extensive experience — from growing up in his family’s Chinese restaurants in Georgia to the famed NYC restaurant Le Bernardin and, finally, his own Michelin-starred restaurant in Atlanta, Lazy Betty.

In the book, Chef Hsu describes his Crushed Garlic and Cucumber Salad:

“This humble salad has been a constant during every stage of my life, from my childhood, where it was a side to many of my meals growing up, to today, where it acts as a ban chan (small side dish), a cooling salad to a bowl of spicy wontons, or a condiment not unlike kimchi with Korean barbecue or sauerkraut in a rich Alsatian choucroute garnie,” he writes.

“It even inspired a dish of mine at Le Bernardin during my time as creative director, wherein a sashimi-style slice of salmon was paired with a fancy version of this salad, the whole plate dressed with a sauce of cucumber juice, cilantro, and mala oil.”

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Crushed Garlic and Cucumber Salad

This recipe dresses fresh cucumbers up with punchy garlic, green onion, cilantro, and a simple Chinese vinaigrette.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Course Salad or Side

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 2 green onions green and white parts chopped
• 25 cilantro leaves
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 3 English (seedless) cucumbers
• Salt and white pepper

Instructions

 

• In a large bowl, mix the green onions, cilantro, both vinegars, sesame oil, and garlic to combine and set aside.
• Cut the unpeeled cucumbers into ½-inch (12 mm) rounds, then place them into a zip-top plastic bag with a pinch of salt. Seal the bag, pressing out as much air as possible. Using the flat side of a cleaver or large knife, gently but firmly press down on the bag to smash the cucumbers. The goal is to have each round ruptured but still in one piece and not broken into smithereens.
• Add the crushed cucumbers and their juices to the vinegar mixture and gently toss with your hands or a large spoon, taking care not to bruise the ingredients. Season with salt and white pepper and serve immediately.

Notes

Reprinted with permission from Down South + East. Text copyright © 2026 by Ron Hsu. Photographs copyright © 2026 by Rinnie Allen. Published by Abrams.

Keyword Cucumber, Easy, Garlic

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