Succotash
Farideh Sadeghin
77 ratings with an average rating of 4 out of 5 stars
77
35 minutes
Smashed Cucumber, Avocado and Shrimp Salad
Updated Oct. 12, 2023
- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- 1pound English, Persian or Kirby cucumbers, rinsed and dried
- ¼teaspoon fine sea or table salt, more to taste
- ¼teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2tablespoons soy sauce
- 1½tablespoons olive oil
- 3teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1teaspoon chile crisp, more to taste
- 1pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined if you like
- 2large ripe avocados
- 2tablespoons rice wine vinegar, more to taste
- 2scallions, thinly sliced
- 2teaspoons toasted white sesame seeds, for garnish (optional)
- ¼cup chopped cilantro, for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
408 calories; 28 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 18 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 17 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 27 grams protein; 734 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Cut cucumbers crosswise into pieces about 4 inches long. Cut each piece in half lengthwise. Place each cucumber piece cut side down. Lay the blade of a large knife on top of the cucumbers and, with your other hand, push down lightly to crack the cucumber skins and break down their flesh (or use a rolling pin to lightly smack the cucumbers). Break (or slice) into bite-size pieces. (Ragged is good here; it helps the flesh absorb the dressing.)
- Step 2
Add cucumber to a colander, and toss with salt and sugar. Let sit for 15 to 30 minutes, or until the pieces have released their moisture. Toss a couple of times while draining.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon soy sauce, olive oil, 2 teaspoons sesame oil and the chile crisp. Set aside.
- Step 4
Cook the shrimp: In a large skillet over medium heat, combine shrimp with 1 tablespoon water, remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Cover the pan and let the shrimp steam until pink and just cooked, 3 to 4 minutes, adding more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if the pan looks dry. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the shrimp to the bowl with the chile crisp dressing and toss well.
- Step 5
Pit and peel the avocados. Cut flesh into ½-inch pieces. Add to a large bowl and toss with the rice wine vinegar until well coated. Add the drained cucumbers, tossing gently to combine.
- Step 6
Add the shrimp and all of its dressing and the scallions to the cucumber and avocado mixture. Stir gently until combined and the avocado begins to break down and look creamy, but some pieces still remain intact. Taste and add more rice wine vinegar and salt, if needed. Garnish with sesame seeds and cilantro.
Tip
- You don’t need to peel or seed thin-skinned cucumbers. But the waxed, thick-skinned cucumbers often found in supermarkets are best peeled and seeded.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
PTobey
Chili crisp is fried red chili flakes in oil with seasonings that very by brand. The standard Chinese brand, found in most Asian/Chinese markets, is LaoGanMa. Many Chinese American chefs in the U.S. are selling their own versions, which are all very tasty. It isn't super hot usually, but adds zing. You can order all kinds of brands online. It seems to be the hot food/recipe ingredient of 2023.
lynda
Momofuku ( David Chang) has excellent chili crisp including regular, hot honey and truffle that you can order online. Also excellent soy sauce, tamari, toasted sesame oil, rice vinegar, salts and noodles. Highly recommend
Molly
1. Chili crisp is not the same as using any sort of chili seasoning. Basic versions aren't spicy so much as deeply savory with a little kick. Others here have shared info about good brands. 2. The sugar & salt are tossed with the cukes to help draw out the moisture, so you don't have a watery salad. You could just use salt, but then you'd be tasting salty cuke, which isn't what you want in this recipe. Also, it's 1/4 tsp. That's not gonna kill you.
Steven
You know yourself best. If you can tolerate scallops, use scallops. This salad probably doesn't even need seafood. I plan on skipping that and tossing in toasted cashews.
Bob
Since when is salmon not seafood?
Lilly
Made exactly as written and is was excellent and well received. I would add more chili crisp and more rice vinegar or lemon or lime. These are to personal taste and easily adjusted. I will try with chicken as well, think it will be tasty too Recommended
Tammy
It’s a 1/4 Tsp of sugar. Surely you’ll be ok.
NewYorker
Salmon is a fish, shrimp along with other crustaceans and bivalves, are seafood.
DSHill
Use regular cukes but scoop out and toss the seed centers and loose flesh with a spoon before salting and sugaring.
S
Tasty! I halved the recipe (1 cucumber, 1 avocado, 1/2lb shrimp) for a 2-person summer main and I thought it was not enough salad. I would add arugula or something else to bulk it up next time. I did add some roasted peanuts in addition to the sesame seeds. I didn't have chili crisp and subbed a little sriracha and that was fine!
Tobes
Chili crisp is fried chili flakes in oil with seasoning. The standard Chinese brand is LaoGanMa, carried in many Chinese/Asian markets and on Amazon. Fly By Jing is an American brand order-able online. You could sub in a sprinkle of chili flakes, like Aleppo pepper, instead of the oily chili crisp.
banana
Fun fact: 3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon, no need to dirty a second measuring spoon for the sesame oil. Yummy salad, perfect for hot August day, and speedy prep.
Sally
I used Kirby cukes and did not peel them - big mistake. Next time I will definitely peel. The final sauce after everything was mixed together was delicious. I went very easy on the chili as I don’t do well with spicy. Great hot weather dish. Thank you!
Powell
Omit the cilantro or substitute with Italian parsley.
AA
There is no “standard Chinese brand.” Lao Gan Ma is just a popular one that’s easily easily found in the US.
AD
Turned out great - I used Persian cukes. Per other notes I chilled the shrimp before mixing into the salad and I think that was a good call. I didn’t think the soy sauce was overpowering at all, nor was the recipe too mushy. I don’t like scallions so didn’t add them; I meant to cook the shrimp with crushed garlic but forgot. We served with naan on the side.
froggs
This didn’t do it for us. My kid and I both found the dressing lacking in flavor, and that’s after zhuzhing up with more vinegar, salt, and chile crisp. I do like the combo of ingredients— shrimp, smashed cukes, avocado = summer classic. But next time I’ll trust my instincts and make my own dressing.
MiamiAl
This is a great recipe - I think it would benefit from being chilled (or chilling the shrimp before tossing). We used a shallot - maybe too strong. Next time we will use scallions.
MiamiAl
This is a great recipe! I think next time we will chill the shrimp before tossing. We also used a shallot in place of the scallions and that flavor is a bit strong. So next time we will use scallions.
Ruth
What do you do with the scallions? Garnish?
AnnSB
I generally love any and all Melissa Clark Recipes, but this one was very meh, IMO. I thought the dressing was too heavy and overwhelming for the delicate taste of shrimp. I will use some of the ingredients of this recipe... avocado, cucumbers, cilantro, scallions, sesame seeds and shrimp, but I will make a lighter dressing with lime juice, garlic, and ginger. I know I'm changing this recipe, but as it stands now, I won't be making this one again.
SSP
The recipe was tasty, but I needed more veggies. I threw in some homegrown small loose leaf lettuce, homegrown micro greens and julienned raw snow peas grown in my garden to give it some snap. It gave it a look of large herbed salad, and it had some more fiber and crunch.
Wyld Scllyn
This is a perfect recipe.
Another Delicious Melissa Recipe!
Followed recipe but added a bit of crunchy romaine at the end. Used a full recipe for dressing but only about 2/3 cucumber, avocado and shrimp.
Kysa
I find it easier to just hit the whole (long English) cucumber with a meat tenderizer mallet, rolling pin, or crush with a muddler. Cut lengthwise and if you have smashed well you can scoop the seeds out then tear or chop into bite sized pieces.
Ann
We loved this recipe. It will happen more often in our house. I used mint and chives instead of cilantro and green onion. The mint went well with the Persian cucumber. I also used about a half teaspoon of harissa instead of chile crisp because that’s what I had. Otherwise I followed the recipe. We used shrimp but any protein would work. We don’t eat red meat or chicken but I think those would work as well as any fish chunks or tofu.
Tish Tosh
Tasty salad
Samantha Nagel
*needs to be consumed within 12hrs of making.
D
Great tasting and simple recipe. I subbed the shrimp with leftover grilled chicken (I did not bother cooking it a second time with the shrimp wet ingredients out of concern for oversalting), garnished it with some sesame seeds and cashews for color and texture.
Ty Moddelmog
Yeee-owww this is good. Four year old daughter loved it too.
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