← Nouns Cooking · Malaysian & Singaporean

Ingredients

• 2 Cucumber, halved, seeds scraped out, thinly sliced
• 1 Red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 Red chilli, thinly sliced
• 3 Bird's eye chilli, finely chopped (optional)
• 2 Lime, juiced
• 2 tsp Sugar
• ½ tsp Salt
• 3 Makrut (kaffir) lime leaves, very finely shredded
• 1 handful mint or daun kesum leaves
• 2 tbsp desiccated coconut, toasted golden (kerisik) (optional)
• 2 tbsp Dried shrimp, soaked, toasted and pounded (optional)

Method

1. Toss the cucumber with the salt and leave for 10 min, then squeeze out the water so the salad stays crunchy.
2. Whisk the lime juice and sugar together until the sugar dissolves.
3. Add the cucumber, onion, chillies, lime leaf and mint, plus the kerisik and dried shrimp if using, and toss well.
4. Taste for salt, sugar and sourness and serve within the hour, with grilled fish, fried chicken or curry.

Tips

• Pounded dried shrimp is the classic Malay addition and gives a savoury depth; with it the salad is no longer vegetarian.
• Dress the salad close to serving time; it goes limp if it sits too long.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Malaysian Chinese Kitchen Singaporean Malaysian Recipes Seasaltwithfood