Chapter 2049: [A Perfect Smashed Cucumber Salad.]
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Smashed cucumber salad was a simple and quick dish to make.
Everyone would dare to say that they knew how to make smashed cucumber salad, but not everyone could make their smashed cucumber salad delicious.
Acucumber was placed on the chopping board with its skin left intact after being washed cleanly.
The skin was the essence of the smashed cucumber salad.
Of course, that was the same for marinated cucumber as well.
Mag held Fat Head Fish, and placed it between his eyes solemnly.
“Now!”
‘Mag lifted the cleaver, moving as fast as lightning. The moment the cleaver landed, he rotated his wrist, and instead of chopping, he smacked. Before the cleaver reached the chopping board, he slowed down suddenly to pat the cucumber gently.
Smack!
Smack! Smack! Smack!
The round cucumber was quickly smashed flat, and its juice squirted everywhere.
(Cucumber: I’m broken.)
Mag frowned a little when he looked at the smashed cucumber on the chopping board.
As he used too much force, the interior of the cucumber was overly squashed and destroyed, making it a smudgy mess and a little ugly.
“Fail.” Mag threw the smashed cucumber into a basin at the side, and took another cucumber.
The key of the smashed cucumber salad was the word “smashed.”
This action was the perfect union of power and technique, and it was crucial to control the power used.
Smashing the cucumber could allow the flavors to go in better, and it would also taste better than sliced cucumbers.
‘The cucumber had to be smashed, but not completely disintegrated, and the interior of the cucumber could not be squashed. Otherwise, it would lose its refreshing taste.
This step made the smashed cucumber salad a very difficult dish that required technique.
Mag recalled his smacking move just now, and tried to control his strength and the angle of his smacking. After that, he wielded his cleaver again.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Inno time at all, the basin beside him was filled with smashed cucumbers.
“Father, are these cucumbers what we will be eating tonight? I think it’s a little too much.” Amy could not help but speak up when she saw Mag pick up yet another cucumber.
“Oh, no, these are all cucumbers that I did not smash well. I can’t use them to make smashed cucumber salad,” Mag said with a shake of his head.
“In that case, what will these cucumbers be used for?” Amy asked, puzzled.
“They will be thrown away,” Mag said.
“That’s a lot of cucumbers. What a pity to throw them away.” Amy took the basin with her. As she ate the smashed cucumbers, she said, “In that case, hand them over to me. I’ll eat them all up.”
Mag did not doubt her words at all.
However, this had also proven his conjecture right—Amy was here for the food indeed!
Mag shook his head with a smile, and continued to smack the cucumbers in his hand.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
He did not use too much or too little strength. Each smack allowed the side of the cleaver to get in contact with a segment of a cucumber, making it crack perfectly. The cucumber was covered in large and small cracks, but it was still whole.
Perfect!
‘Mag nodded as he looked at the cracked cucumbers on the chopping board. After that, he cut them into small pieces.
‘The cut cucumbers split naturally into even pieces. The cucumbers were covered with cracks, but they still looked very full and juicy.
‘The cucumbers were prepared. Next, it was the flavoring sauce.
The flavoring sauce was the core of the taste for smashed cucumber salad.
Cucumbers were light and refreshing, so the flavoring sauce would determine their taste.
Asa lover of sour and spicy smashed cucumber salad, Mag had already drafted a recipe for the flavoring sauce in his mind: soy sauce, vinegar, a little sugar, oyster sauce, garlic, red oil, and Chaotian pepper.
Although Mag had not made this dish before, he had eaten a lot of smashed cucumber salad.
After this period of understanding and familiarizing himself with the different seasonings, Mag could already guess what kind of seasoning was added to a dish based on his memory.
Of course, the specific amount still required trial and error.
After peeling off the garlic’s skin and pounding it down, Mag started his meticulous seasoning, as though he was making some chemical medicine.
The red oil was premade since it was needed in the pig ears salad and pig tongue salad.
“Too sour!
“Too sweet!
“Too salty!
“Too spicy!”
wee
Mag tried the sauce he made every time and frowned.
Amy returned to the kitchen with the large basin in his arms. There was a row of sauces by her side. She was eating the cucumbers happily with the sauces.
“Is it good?” Mag placed the unsatisfactory sauce down as he spoke to Amy, who was munching on the cucumbers like a little squirrel.
“Mm-hm. It’s good.” Amy nodded. “And it is getting better?”
“Try this, then.” Mag placed a plate of sauce in front of Amy.
Amy picked up a piece of cucumber, and dipped it in the sauce before putting it in her mouth.
It’s sour and spicy, delicious!
[An almost perfect dipped cucumber.]
Avalidation report appeared in Amy’s mind.
“Although it’s good, I think it can be improved to make it perfect,” Amy told Mag.
“Oh?” Mag was slightly shocked. The little fellow loved to praise him. He did not expect her to give her a not-perfect review.
However, that was what he was thinking too.
The sourness and spiciness were done perfectly, but he still felt that something was lacking.
“Father, is this cucumber eaten dipped?” Amy asked.
“Right! I should mix them together and see the results!” Mag’s eyes lit up. He was so caught up with the process that he neglected the possible reaction that would happen when both were combined.
Although the cucumber did not have much taste, it had its unique fragrance.
On top of that, the cucumber was very juicy. Therefore, when the cucumber was mixed with the sauce, the sauce would become lighter due to the cucumber’s juice. This was also something that Mag had to take into consideration.
“Smashed cucumber salad is a salad. You don’t eat it as a dip,” Mag said with a smile. He smacked another cucumber, and made the sauce according to the previous recipe. He drizzled the sauce over the cucumber, mixed them well, and placed them in the refrigerator.
Soon after, Mag took the smashed cucumber salad out from the refrigerator.
‘There was indeed more liquid in the plate. However, as the dish was refrigerated, the amount of liquid that seeped out was not too much.
‘The cucumber was still very green, and there were some garlic bits and red Chaotian pepper decorating it. The sour and spicy fragrance wafted over, making one swallow their saliva instinctively.
“Try this.” Mag took two pairs of chopsticks, and passed one of them to Amy while he picked up a piece for himself.
‘The sourness of vinegar blossomed in his mouth immediately. The spiciness followed soon after. The fragrance of the red oil and Chaotian pepper infused together perfectly, bringing out the spiciness even more.
Mag bit into the cucumber. It was refreshing and crunchy. On top of that, the refreshing juice from the cucumber squirted out in his mouth, neutralizing the sourness and spiciness perfectly.
“This is it!”
Mag’s eyes lit up.
He finally found the key to its imperfection. It was the original taste of cucumber.
Now, this smashed cucumber salad had reached his expectations.
Although it could not be compared to a real master’s, it was enough to have with porridge and wine.
Amy took a piece of cucumber.
[A perfect smashed cucumber salad—shocking culinary skills..]