KOREAN CUCUMBER NAMUL

This sort of salad is a sautéed version that retains the natural succulence of the cucumber or zucchini, while also infusing the dish with pleasant hint of garlic and red chilli.  You can also replace the chilli strips with thinly sliced bell peppers if you prefer a less heaty version.

It’s great to serve this dish with fried meats which is what I did.  The accompaniment 'fried pork strips' are marinated with blended ginger, garlic and seasoned with some light soy sauce, lemon juice and honey.  Awesome.  Looks good, isn't it with the sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.

Believe me, the sauteed zucchini slices are still crunchy.

Recipe adapted from the book ‘500 Curries’ with slight modifications

Ingredients

1 medium size zucchini – cleaned

1 tsp chopped spring onions

1 tsp chopped garlic

½ red chilli – seeded and cut thin strips

½ tbsp cooking oil

½ tsp sesame seed oil

Salt to taste

Some toasted sesame seeds for garnishing

1. Thinly sliced the zucchini which a scrapper and place in a colander over a bowl.  Sprinkle some salt [1 tsp], then leave to stand for about 10 minutes.  Squeezed off any excess liquid from the zucchini slices and transfer  to a plate.
2. Swirl oil around a pan over medium heat, add in chopped spring onions and garlic.  Saute until aromatic, add in the zucchini slices. Quickly stir fry for  a minute to prevent over cooking.
3. Remove from heat, add sesame seed oil, red chilli, toss well.
4. Place salad onto serving plate and sprinkle sesame seeds.  Serve with fried meats.
   

 

I am sharing this post with Cookbook Countdown Event #23 hosted by Joyce and Emily of Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking [Makan2] Foray respectively