Japanese Cucumber Salad

Some like it hot, some don't. The chilli is entirely optional, a pleasing contrast with the cool cucumber, but not critical to the success of the salad.

Serves 3-4 people.

Ingredients ...

• 1 cucumber
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• ¼ teaspoon hot chilli sauce (optional)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• ¼ teaspoon lightly toasted sesame seeds

Preparation ...

Peel the cucumber, half lengthways and scoop out the seeds. Slice thinly. Mix with salt, sugar, rice vinegar and ginger and chill in the fridge for at least half an hour. Drain the cucumber and place in a serving dish, drizzle over the chilli sauce if using, and the sesame oil, then sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Serve at once.

Reproduced with kind permission of Sophie Grigson.