Crunchy Chinese Cucumber Salad - cooking recipe

Ingredients

Dressing
1 teaspoon cooking oil
1 big mild chili pepper, deseeded, sliced into rings (or a small hot chilli finely chopped)
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons dark rice vinegar
1 tablespoon white wine
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Cucumber
1 cucumber (ca 350g/12ounces, unpeeled)
150 ml hot water
1/2 tablespoon salt

Preparation

Preparation of cucumber:
Half washed but unpeeled cucumber lengthwise. Remove the seeds with a spoon and discard. Slice into ca 1/2 cm / 1/5 inch pieces. Put into a bowl.
Mix hot water and salt and pour it over the cucumber pieces. Leave cucumbers in water for ca 20 minutes.
Dressing:
Heat oil in a medium skillet.
Add chilli and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients of the dressing until the sesame oil. Cook for 2 minutes.
Add garlic and sesame. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Put aside.
Finish Salad:
Drain the cucumber pieces (after the 20 minutes in the water) and squeeze them slightly. Mix with the dressing (I do this in the skillet and put salad afterwards into a bowl) and leave the salad for 2 hours to develop its flavour.
Serve as a starter or as a side dish to a chinese meal.