Cucumber and Jellyfish Salad (Ceng1 Gwaa1 Hoi2 Zit3 Saa1 Leot6, 青瓜海蜇沙律)

 

This recipe was updated on 30 Dec 2013. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

 

This salad might seem to be an unusual combination of ingredients, cucumber and jellyfish, but it’s one that I grew up with and was one of my Grandmother’s favorite dishes. You used to have to buy salted jellyfish, soak it multiple times to hydrate and to remove the salt, and then cut it into long strips. Now it comes pre-packaged (as “instant jellyfish”) and ready to eat! The dressing is sesame oil and rice vinegar.

It’s easy to make and I used to make it for work potlucks. I would get quizzical looks from people and when asked what it was, I would just say, “It’s a Chinese Cucumber Salad, have some, you’ll like it”. After people gobbled it up, I would tell them what was really in it.

Enjoy!

Salad Ingredients

5.2 oz.	154 ml.	1 package instant jellyfish (hoi2 zit3, 海蜇)
		or
5 oz.	150 ml.	About ⅓ of a 14 oz. package salted jellyfish, rehydrated and cut into ¼-inch (7.5 mm.) strips
2	2	Cucumbers (ceng1 gwaa1, 青瓜), halved and then cut into ¼-inch (7.5 mm.) pieces
1 tsp.	5 ml.	White sesame seeds (zi1 maa4, 芝麻), optional
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Black sesame seeds (wu4 maa4, 胡麻), optional

 

Dressing Ingredients

5 tsp.	25 ml.	Seasoned rice vinegar (mai5 cou3, 米醋) – see notes
2 tsp.	10 ml.	Sesame oil (maa4 jau4, 麻油)
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Sugar (baak6 tong4, 白糖), add only if using unseasoned rice vinegar
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Salt (jim4, 鹽), add only if using unseasoned rice vinegar

 

Instructions

1. If you’re using salted jellyfish, follow the instructions on the back of the package to rehydrate and remove the salt. This could take up to 4 hours (soaking in water with multiple water changes) or overnight to prepare the jellyfish. The jellyfish will have to be sliced into long ¼-in. (7.5 mm.) wide strips once it’s been rehydrated. If using the pre-packaged “instant” jellyfish, just open the package, and drain and discard any liquid (now you see why the “instant” jellyfish is what you want to use!). Add the jellyfish strips to a bowl.
2. Halve the cucumbers lengthwise and then cut each cucumber half into ¼-inch (7.5 mm.) pieces. There are various ways to remove the liquid in the cucumbers that range from putting the slices into a clean towel and twisting the towel to remove the liquid, to crushing the slices by hand in a bowl. The liquid in the cucumber eventually dilutes the flavor of the dressing if not removed. The removal of the excess liquid is necessary if you’re not going to serve the dish immediately. Put the cucumber slices into the bowl with the jellyfish and toss together.
3. Prepare the dressing by adding the seasoned rice vinegar and sesame oil to a small bowl and combine the mixture. If the rice vinegar is unseasoned, add the sugar and salt to the bowl and mix thoroughly.
4. Add the dressing to the bowl with the cucumbers and jellyfish, and toss together. Put the completed salad into the refrigerator for up to one hour to allow the flavors to combine (optional). You can choose to serve the salad immediately. If taking the salad from the refrigerator after one hour of marinating, toss the salad one more time. Add the sesame seed as a topping (optional) before serving.

Notes

1. Rice vinegar is available seasoned or unseasoned. The label will usually indicate if it is seasoned (salt and sugar added), but unseasoned may not be indicated as such, so check the ingredients for the rice vinegar to determine which version you have. You don’t have to add more sugar and salt if using seasoned rice vinegar, but taste the dressing to make the determination.