
Sichuan smacked cucumber noodles
Use up surplus homegrown cucumbers with this rice noodle dish. It makes an excellent lunchbox option and you can tailor it to make it less spicy, if you like
- 1 cucumber
- 100g rice noodles
- 2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
- ½ tsp Sichuan peppercornscrushed and toasted
- ½ tsp chilli flakesplus extra to serve (optional)
- pinch of caster sugar
- 10g corianderroughly chopped
Nutrition: Per serving
- kcal305
- fat12g
- saturates2g
- carbs39g
- sugars3g
- fibre4g
- protein9g
- salt0.52g
Method
step 1
Using a rolling pin or heavy frying pan, lightly smack the cucumber across all sides, until splitting. Scrape out the seeds, cut into chunks and put in a sieve. Sprinkle well with salt and leave to drain by setting the sieve over a bowl.
step 2
Meanwhile, soak the rice noodles in boiling water until tender, then rinse with cold water and set aside.
step 3
Whisk together the soy sauce, tahini, rice wine vinegar, Sichuan peppercorns, chilli flakes and caster sugar in a bowl. Rinse the salted cucumbers well, then add to the dressing, along with the chopped coriander and noodles.
step 4
Mix well to combine, then divide between two bowls, sprinkling with more chilli flakes, if you like.