Unbeaten cucumbers or Pickled Chinese Style Cucumbers with soy sauce, garlic and chili

Unbeaten cucumbers are the same as beaten cucumbers, only without the childhood psychotraumas.

All right, in fact, this recipe is very similar in flavor to beaten / smashed cucumbers, but here we cook a lot of them at once and not just pour the sauce over them, but marinate the cucumbers in it.

The simplicity of preparation combined with a unique flavor makes this recipe an ideal choice for those who appreciate quality and variety in cooking.

Keep in mind – the cucumbers turn out quite spicy, reduce the amount of chili or exclude at all at your discretion.

⏱ Cooking time —24 hours and 15 minutes overall. Includes 15 minutes of preparation and cooking + 24 hours minutes unattended.

🔪 Ingredients

For two 500g jars:

• 800 g (1 ¾ lb) cucumbers
• 7-8 garlic cloves
• 2-3 dried red chili peppers
• 5 cm ginger
• 100 ml (6 ¾ tbsp.) soy sauce
• 3 tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. Sichuan pepper (optional)
• 3 tbsp. salt
• 40 ml (2⅚ tbsp.) vinegar (6% acidity, I use a mixture of 20 ml wine vinegar + 20 ml rice vinegar)
• 200 ml (~1 cup) water
• 2-3 tbsp. vegetable oil

To serve (optional):

• sesame oil
• fresh cilantro and/or green onions
• sesame seeds

🥣 Directions

👉 Jump to Short Version of Recipe

Preparing the cucumbers and preparing the flavor mixture

Take 800 g (1 ¾ lb) of fresh cucumbers. Slice any way you like (I sliced into circles for burgers, and diced for use as an appetizer). You can also slice into half rings or pickle the cucumber quarters altogether. The seeds can be removed for less wateriness and to make the cucumbers crispier, but it’s not necessary.

Salt the cucumbers with 1 tbsp. of salt, stir and massage them. Transfer them to a deep bowl.

Peel 5 cm of ginger and 7-8 cloves of garlic. Slice the ginger into thin slices and the garlic into slices.

Also randomly chop 2-3 dried red chili peppers.

Filling the container with cucumbers

Prepare 2 containers (I have half-liter jars with lids). Put chopped ginger and garlic in the bottom (for a stronger flavor, skip this step for now). Discard the pickled cucumbers in a colander, and allow excess juice to drain. Then put the cucumbers into jars.

Preparation of marinade and marinating

Heat 2-3 tbsp. of vegetable oil in a small saucepan over low heat, add the mixture of crushed dried red chili pepper and 1 tsp. of Sichuan pepper. At this step, you can add ginger and garlic to achieve more flavor (if you haven’t already put them in jars). Roast for 1-2 minutes, do not let it burn.

In another ladle, pour 200 ml (~1 cup) of water, 100 ml (6 ¾ tbsp.) of soy sauce and 40 ml (2⅚ tbsp.) of vinegar. Bring the mixture to the boil. Add 3 tbsp. sugar and the remaining salt, stir until dissolved.

Pour the oil and peppers into the jars, then pour in the brine. If the brine is not enough to cover the cucumbers completely – add water.

Cool to room temperature, close and put in the refrigerator for 1-2 days for pickling.

Serving pickles

Serve the finished pickles drizzled with sesame oil, sprinkled with cilantro leaves with (or without) finely chopped green onions and sesame seeds. With this serving, you’ll get even closer to Chinese battered cucumbers in flavor, but none of this is necessary. These cucumbers are also wonderful on their own right out of the jar. I especially like them on the 2nd or 3rd day.

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