Very Hot, Sweet and Sour Cucumber Pieces, Szechuan Style

Summary

Ingredients

• 1 medium cucumber (s), approx. 350 g
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon celery leaves, fresh or frozen
• 5 small onion (s), red
• 3 medium clove (s) garlic, fresh
• 15 g iner, fresh or frozen
• 4 small chillies, green (cabe rawit hijau)
• 2 small chillies, red
• 0.5 ½ hot peppers, red
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 4 tablespoon rice wine vinegar, black, mild Chinese (Narcissus)
• 2 tablespoon tamarind syrup
• 2 tablespoon lime juice
• 2 pinch (s) black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 pinch (s) nutmeg, freshly grated

Also: (to taste)

• Honey, rice wine vinegar and sugar

To garnish:

• Dill, fresher
• Flowers and leaves

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Instructions

1. Wash the cucumber, cap both ends, peel and halve lengthways and remove the grains. Cut the halves diagonally into pieces approx. 8 mm thick. Put the pieces with the salt in a bowl, mix well and leave to steep for 2 to 3 hours at room temperature. Mix every now and then.
2. Cap the onions and garlic at both ends, peel and quarter the onions lengthways, squeeze the garlic. Wash the chillies, cut them lengthways and wash out the grains. Cut the red chilli diagonally into fine rings. Discard the stem, leave the grains. Wash the peppers, cut open lengthways and unfold, remove the grains and the light red partitions and cut the empty pod across into fine strips.
3. Pour off the salt water over a sieve. Drain the cucumber pieces well. Return to the bowl, add sugar, honey, vinegar, tamarind syrup and the remaining ingredients and mix well. Season to taste with the ingredients for it. Marinate for at least 6 hours before use. Garnish as a side dish and serve ice-cold.
4. Note: In the Szechuan region there are only 2 degrees of spiciness for food: spicy and very spicy. And many dishes are otherwise well seasoned with a tendency towards counterpoints. Here it`s the ginger.