Hot, sweet and spicy.
I love that combination in foods.
I adore Vietnamese spring rolls with the spicy and sweet chile dipping sauce.
My favorite pancakes are ones I make with slices of fresh jalapeno and fresh corn folded into the batter and then drizzled with pure maple syrup just before eating (I’m making myself hungry here!) and I enjoy this simple Thai cucumber salad with its hot-sweet vinagrette.
Mine is an adaptation of a recipe I found on AllRecipes site. A link to the original recipe appears at the end of this post.
Recipe: Spicy Thai Cucumber Salad
1 large hothouse (English) cucumber (seeded and sliced into 1/4 inch strips)
1/2 T. salt
1/4 C. white sugar
1/4 C. rice wine vinegar
1 jalapeno pepper (seeded and chopped)
1/8 C. chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 C. chopped peanuts
Directions:
Peel and slice a cucumber in half lengthwise. Use a teaspoon to scoop out the seeds. Slice the cucumber into 1/4 inch slices and put slices and salt into a colander. Let salted cucumber slices drain over your sink in the colander for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix sugar and rice vinegar in a bowl. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes until the sugar has dissolved. Mix in chopped fresh jalapeno and chopped fresh cilantro.
Rinse the salt from your sliced cucumbers and pat them dry with a dish towel. Add the cucumber slices to the spicy vinegar mixture.
Serve at room temperature. Sprinkle chopped salted peanuts over the salad just before serving and garnish with thin slices of red radish. You also can brighten up this spicy vinaigrette with the juice of a lime.
Here is the link to the original recipe:
