Sichuan smacked cucumber noodles

Use up surplus homegrown cucumbers with this rice noodle dish. It makes an excellent lunchbox option and you can tailor it to make it less spicy, if you like

Ingredients

• 1 cucumber
• 100 g rice noodles
• 2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
• 0.5 tsp Sichuan peppercorns , crushed and toasted
• 0.5 tsp chilli flakes , plus extra to serve (optional)
• pinch of caster sugar
• 10 g coriander , roughly chopped

Steps

1. Using a rolling pin or heavy frying pan, lightly smack the cucumber across all sides, until splitting. Scrape out the seeds, cut into chunks and put in a sieve. Sprinkle well with salt and leave to drain by setting the sieve over a bowl.
2. Meanwhile, soak the rice noodles in boiling water until tender, then rinse with cold water and set aside.
3. Whisk together the soy sauce, tahini, rice wine vinegar, Sichuan peppercorns, chilli flakes and caster sugar in a bowl. Rinse the salted cucumbers well, then add to the dressing, along with the chopped coriander and noodles.
4. Mix well to combine, then divide between two bowls, sprinkling with more chilli flakes, if you like.