Recipes / Sides
Cucumber sambal (heritage recipe)
Shredded cucumber and spring onion with chilli, lemon juice, salt and a dash of soy. A cool, sharp Cape Malay side for curries, bredies and braaied fish.
- CoalsGas
- No fire needed
- Prep
- 15 min
- On the fire
- 0 min
- Plan ahead
- 15 minutes draining
- Serves
- 4 to 6 as a side
Ingredients
Method
- Peel the cucumbers, halve them lengthways and scrape out the seeds with a teaspoon.
- Grate the cucumber on the coarse side of a grater, or cut it into fine matchsticks.
- Toss the cucumber with the salt in a sieve and leave it over a bowl for 15 minutes to drain.
- Squeeze the cucumber firmly in your hands to get rid of as much water as you can.
- Mix the cucumber with the spring onions, chilli, lemon juice and soy sauce. Taste and add salt if needed.
- Stir in the mint or coriander, if using, and keep cold until you serve.
Done when: the cucumber is crisp and dry enough that no liquid pools in the bowl, and it tastes salty, sour and a little hot.
Tips
- Make it no more than 2 hours ahead. After that the cucumber goes limp.
- Duckitt suggested a little anchovy sauce when serving it with fish. A teaspoon of fish sauce does the same job.
Sambals are the small, sharp side dishes of the Cape Malay table, served to cut through rich curries and stews. Hildagonda Duckitt recorded this cucumber version in 1891, with the green flesh and seeds removed so it stays crisp. It needs no fire, which makes it an easy side to put next to a tomato bredie or a plate of braaied fish.
Source
Adapted from Hilda's "Where is it?" of Recipes by Hildagonda J. Duckitt (1891), public domain.