Hot Spicy Sichuan Style Cucumber Salad

After having tasted this dish at Restaurant Xiang Man Lou ( Sichuan restaurant ).  If you have not read my previous post, you can check the post  here .  I came home googled for the recipe and after studying through the recipe  , I tweaked it to my liking as in the preparation.  I  toasted the sichuan peppercorns and bring the rest of the ingredients to a boil and while the sauce is still hot, I added in the pick cucumber so that the flavors get infused into the cucumber .  It turned out great and I would like to share with you my version.  I serve the hot spicy cucumber chilled and let is sit overnight in the fridge.  It tasted awesome-ly good!  Yum!!

love the crunchy texture and the flavorful sweet black vinegar...

thumbs up !

this spicy cucumber salad is a healthy dish ....according to traditional 

Chinese medicine cucumber can loosen the bowel, 

reduce body fat, protect skin and smooth out wrinkles and

Sichuan peppercorns are very rich in essential oils,

vitamins and antioxidants   :)  I love these facts and

will make this dish more often :P

bought these Japanese cucumbers from Jusco

Hot Spicy Sichuan Style Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

6 med. sized Japanese cucumber -  remove seeds ,cut into strips
2 tsp of sea salt

2 tbsp of  black vinegar
2 tsp of sesame oil
5 cloves of garlic-chopped
4 dried chilli - cut into smaller pieces or pinch of chilli flakes
2 tsp of Sichuan peppercorns
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp of water
1 tbsp of vegetable oil

toasted white sesame seeds for garnishing

Preparation:

1. Cut cucumber into strips. Sprinkle sea salts evenly and pick it for 1-2 hours in the fridge. Squeeze out the salt water .
2. Heat up a non stick pan, add in Sichuan peppercorns and stir fry till it start jumping on your pan, add in oil, garlic, black vinegar, sesame oil , dried chillies, water and cook till it bubbles. Off heat , add in the cucumber strips and combine evenly with the black vinegar mixture and dish up. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

*   Serve at room temperature or chilled. I prefer to let it sit overnight. It taste much better.

Enjoy!

Birthday Lunch @ Restaurant Xiang Man Lou

This post has been long overdue...we held two of our cg members ( Ron and Sandra ) birthday celebration last month. This time the venue was at Restaurant Xiang Man Lou, a place where they served Sichuan dishes...hot, oily and spicy dishes .  This restaurant is just opposite Festival Walk (opp Sushi Zento )  I am speaking for myself, the food is not bad for a change.....something different from the other chinese restaurants.  The cooking is authentic sichuan cooking...oily , spicy with lots of different peppercorns used in most of their dishes.  I kinda like the flavor and it agrees with my gastro :)   Have a peep at what was ordered for the birthday lunch :)  Drool as much as you like...I would fine you for that :p

I like this hot spicy cucumber side dish and 

I even googled for the recipe online and found one good one.  

Will post up this hot spicy cucumber salad on my next post...stay tuned for it.

wood fungus sides with lots of  pickled garlic,pickled hot chilli and vinegar

special beef sides...love this dish to bits

if not for the cholesterol factor, I would have tucked in more :p

this is another appetising seaweed and vermicelli salad

packed with lots of chopped garlic, chillies and sweet black vinegar

eggplant and long beans stir fry...delicious but a bit salty for me

this is the most pricey dish for the day.....the expensive Garoupa ( lou foo pan )

cooked in hot spicy oil...you eat only the fish...coz the whole pot consist of hot spicy oil but

I would say this is the best dish...very flavorful...lots of sichuan peppercorns and dried chillies

and this the awesome prawn dish ...deep fried prawns with 

lots of spice ingredients..

we had a great time digging out and trying to guess 

what are the crispy spicy ingredients in this dish...

they have peppercorns, dried seaweed, peanuts and maybe

mint leaves....hahaha but this is definitely a MUST ORDER  dish

steamed free range chicken...flavorful...I guess they have steamed 

and soaked in rice wine...delectable comes with ginger dippings

I forgot the address of this restaurant

it is opposite Sushi Zento , Festival Walk

Have a great day.! :)

Chinese Eggplant With Spicy Garlic Sauce

I love eggplant/aubergine and if you ask me what vegetable plant I want to plant most in my garden , it will be eggplant :) I love the soft tender pulp of the veggie that absorbs flavors easily after cooking.  It is a versatile vegetable that you can have them in your salad and curry  .There are many ways to cook them especially in Sichuanese cooking . I will be experimenting them in the days to come.  I have a few great recipes using eggplant  which I will want to try out.  For today, I will share this simple to prepare and yet appetizing eggplant dish.  I got this recipe from Steamy Kitchen's blog .  I like the fact that she used black vinegar and she said that we can substitute black vinegar with balsamic vinegar....gosh , I love balsamic vinegar so I am going to use balsamic instead of black vinegar :)  It comprises of chillies, garlic, soy sauce and a touch of black vinegar to balance the flavors out. After reading the ingredients used, I knew I had to try it out for I have never try adding black vinegar to eggplant and I am curious to know how it would taste out.  I normally add lime to my eggplant but this uses black vinegar or balsamic...a must try of course!

love the Sichuan eggplant dish...

it not only smell good but the sauce ingredients

is a wonderful flavor party, the balsamic vinegar balance the flavor out

a delicious dish !  

Chinese Eggplant With Spicy Garlic Sauce - adapted from Steamy Kitchen

Ingredients:-

2 tablespoons cooking oil, divided
3 small eggplants cut into long strips
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 red chile pepper, finely diced
1 tablespoon ginger, finely minced
1 stalk green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon black vinegar * replace with balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Method:

In a wok or saucepan over high heat, add 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil and swirl to coat wok. When wok is hot, add eggplant in a single layer. Cook 1 minute and flip over each piece so they cook evenly. Cook another 2-3 minutes, flipping occasionally.

Push eggplant aside in wok and add 1 tablespoon cooking oil. Add garlic, red chile peppers, ginger and green onion. Stir these aromatics until they become fragrant. Combine aromatics with eggplant and stir fry for one minute. Add soy sauce, black vinegar ( balsamic vinegar ) and sugar and stir to combine all. Serve immediately.

You may like these eggplant recipes that I have tried out :)

1.  Aubergine Charlotte With Salmon

2.  Aubergine Omelette

3. Crispy And Spicy Salty Egg Yolk Aubergine Cubes

4. Stir Fry Diced Eggplant/Aubergine With Shrimps

5. Spicy Sesame Eggplant

6. Curtis Stone- Deep Fried Aubergine And Mozzarella With Basil

7. Crispy Panko Crusted Aubergine Slices

8. Pan Grilled And Portobello And Aubergine Puffs

9.Savory Aubergine/Eggplant Slices

10. Baked Aubergine With Corned Beef Toppings