cucumber salad Archives | CaribbeanPot.com

After sharing this video on YouTube, the comments were very interesting. From “Why?”, to “Only a man would do this”, and “brilliant on it’s own or on the side of grilled salmon”. Chow is basically a quick spicy pickle we make in the Caribbean. Usually made with tart fruit (like green mango or Pommecythere aka golden apple ) and enjoyed as a snack by both kids and adults alike. Except adults tend to enjoy it better when there’s beer and cocktails involved. Note! typically the cucumber is cut into slices or wedges when this chow is done the traditional way.

You’ll Need…

2 Medium English Cucumbers (any cucumber will work)
1 tablespoon sea salt (divided)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 Wiri Wiri Peppers (any spicy pepper will work)
3-4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon Shado Beni (chopped) * Cilantro will work too
2 shallots (or a small red onion – sliced thin)
1 lemon (juice)
1 tablespoon Korean pepper paste (Gochujang)

Important! If doing this recipe gluten free, please go through the full list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. If you cannot source Wiri Wiri (coffee) Peppers, any spicy pepper will work.

Wash the cucumbers, then smash then using a rolling pin or as in my case, my wooden pestle. It will get messy! Then give the pieces a rough chop. Finally, add the pieces to a bowl and toss them with 1/2 the salt mentioned above.

The salt will do two things for us. It will help to pull out some of the water or tart juice from the cucumbers and two, in doing so allow the cucumbers to absorb the flavors we’ll add later.

As this sit in the salt, place the remaining salt, garlic and Wiri Wiri peppers in your mortar and crush to a paste. After 30 minutes, drain the cucumber to get rid of the liquid which will naturally sprout.

Now top the drained cucumber with that crushed pepper/garlic paste.

Basically all you have to do after is add all the other ingredients mentioned and give it a good toss.

The Korean pepper paste (Gochujang) is NOT traditional to this recipe (nor the shallots), but ever since our trip to Seoul a few years back I just enjoy adding it to this type of chow. There’s a deep fermented (almost smoky too) flavor it adds to the finished chow, that takes it to different level (IMHO).

I like placing it in a container with a lid and allow it to chill in the fridge before I tuck in. As a snack or a spicy salad, there’s no denying that it’s refreshing and an excellent way to make use of cucumbers.

Drop me your comments below, tag me on Instagram and don’t forget you can now get my cookbook – The Vibrant Caribbean Pot, 100 Traditional And Fusion Recipes @ CaribbeanPot.com/CookBook/

As a young fella on the islands my brother and I would always volunteer to go help dad in the garden whenever we knew cucumbers were in season. We had a stash of salt and a few cloves of garlic in the make-shift shed, where dad would take his breaks from the midday sun. With scotch bonnet pepper (congo as we’d say) and shado beni fresh from the garden.. we’d always make a huge bowl of this ‘chow’ with the ‘baby’ cucumbers (always the sweetest). Immediately after we’d hit the river to go fishing, followed by hours of swimming in the cool refreshing waters of the Guaracara river. Funny thing is dad never got our assistance, but he never peeped a word to mom!

You’ll Need…

6 Dill cucumbers
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 lemon (juice)
8-12 cherry tomatoes
1/2 scotch bonnet pepper (no seeds)
2 tablespoons cilantro (chopped)
1 clove garlic (crused or diced fine)
1/2 small red onion (optional)

Note: you can use any cucumber you have on hand and the option to peel or not is totally up to you. Remember to wear gloves when handling scotch bonnet peppers and to wash your hands immediately after with soap and water. You can cut back or use more of the pepper if you wish. Traditionally we would use shado beni (culantro) instead of the cilantro.

It was early summer when I did this recipe so I had access to what’s called dill cucumbers (basically small cucumbers) for this recipe, but you can use any cucumber you have on hand. You have the option of peeling or not. In my case, these small cucumbers are quite sweet and I find that the skin adds a lovely texture to it all. What I would recommend doing is not only washing them very well, but to soak them in cool water to make sure all the dirt and sand drops of them.

Cut the stems and bottoms off and cut into spears and place in a large bowl. I also had some cherry tomatoes, so I opted to add them to the salad/chow for some added flavor, color and texture. You can use any tomato you have.

Crush or dice the garlic very finely, chop the cilantro and you can dice the scotch bonnet or cut it into large pieces so when you serve it, your guests can easily identify the pieces and avoid them.

Basically all you’re doing at this point is assembling everything together and giving it a good toss. For best results, allow it to chill and marinate in the fridge for about 1/2 hour.

If you’re new to Caribbean cuisine or this website, ‘chow’ is basically a spicy pickle we make with tart fruits.. in most cases green mangoes, pineapple etc. In this case we used cucumbers with the same sort of effect.. except, you’ll get a more juicy and refreshing finish.

If you don’t have lemons you can use lime or orange juice for a different flavor profile and if spicy is not your thing.. you can leave out the scotch bonnet pepper. In the video below you’ll notice that I didn’t add any red onions.. so that is totally optional.

cucumber salad

Smashed Cucumber Chow.

Zesty Cucumber Chow (Salad).

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