Sichuan Cucumber Salad

Name: Sichuan Cucumber Salad
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: Cucumber; Firm tofu; Rice vinegar; Light soy sauce; Garlic; Sunflower oil; Dried chilli flakes; Toasted sesame oil; Caster sugar; Salt

Sichuan Cucumber Salad, plated as one serving.

197 kcal a serving, against 235 for the traditional version. That is 38 kcal off, or 16%, with 15g of protein. Serves 4. 15 minutes.

What the traditional version is

A crisp, refreshing pile of smashed cucumbers, drenched in an intensely savoury dressing of soy sauce, black vinegar, sugar and raw garlic, then flooded with a generous pour of vibrant red chilli oil and toasted sesame oil.

What changed, and what each change costs

Adding 300g of firm tofu to the bowl

Cucumbers are essentially crunchy water. Throwing in firm tofu brings a massive hit of lean protein, turning a fleeting side dish into something that will actually keep you full.

What it costs you. You lose the delicate nature of the original. The tofu makes it heavy and dominant, completely hijacking the dish.

60g of sunflower oil down to 15g

Traditional chilli oil requires a large volume of hot fat to extract the flavour from the chilli flakes. Cutting the oil removes a huge amount of fat while keeping enough to carry the heat.

What it costs you. There is no glorious red slick pooling at the bottom of the bowl. The dressing coats the ingredients rather than drowning them.

15g of sugar down to 5g

Restaurant versions use plenty of sugar to balance the harsh bite of raw garlic and sharp vinegar. Dropping it leaves a much more aggressive punch.

What it costs you. You have to really love vinegar and garlic. There is no sweet background to hide behind, so the raw flavours hit you right in the teeth.

What goes in it

The ingredients, without the quantities. The weights are what the figures below are computed from, and they are in the book.

Cucumber
Firm tofu
Rice vinegar
Light soy sauce
Garlic
Sunflower oil
Dried chilli flakes
Toasted sesame oil
Caster sugar
Salt

How it starts

Take your firm tofu out of the fridge and press it gently between two sheets of kitchen paper to remove the surface water.
Wash the cucumbers.
Peel and crush the garlic into a fine paste.

The rest of the method, and every weight, is in Authentic-ish Chinese.

The numbers

Per serving	Traditional	Lightened
Calories	235	197
Protein	2.2g	15g
Fat	20.9g	12.2g
Saturated fat	2.4g	1.6g
Carbohydrate	12.4g	11.3g
Protein per 100 kcal	0.9g	7.6g

Every figure is computed from the recipe's own weighed ingredient list against public food composition databases. The appendix in Authentic-ish Chinese prints the exact database row used for each ingredient, so any number here can be checked. How every number is computed sets out the method.

Allergens. gluten, sesame, soybeans, sulphites.

The method is in the book

This is the first time I have taken a side dish and forced it to do the job of a main course. It works, provided you accept what it has become. The cucumber still brings that essential crunch, and the dressing is just as loud and abrasive as you want it to be. The tofu acts like a sponge, soaking up all that aggressive garlic and sharp vinegar. It is a fantastic, punchy plate of food. Just don't sit down expecting a polite little salad. You're eating a heavy meal that demands your full attention.

The quantities and the method for this dish are in Authentic-ish Chinese, along with 55 more. Buy the paperback