VINEGAR, CHILI, AND A CRACKED CUCUMBER
[VOL.13]
welcome to SUPERMARKET.
i’m jeremy fall, a chef and restaurateur from los angeles. this newsletter is where we experiment with flavor - bold, creative, and luxurious - but always microwaveable and designed to make you feel something. it’s not about performance. it’s about real food, real fast, that still tastes like it came out of a chef's kitchen.
after last week’s black garlic butter recipe, all lush and sticky and deep, we’re making a hard left into sharp, raw clarity.
this week’s flavor takes us to zhenjiang, in china’s jiangsu province, home to one of the country’s four famous vinegars. hengshun’s 6-year aged zhenjiang vinegar is dark and full-bodied, made from glutinous rice and wheat bran, fermented in a 50-day, 40-step process, and aged in earthenware for years. it’s sweet, fragrant, and round - not astringent or overly sharp - making it ideal for eastern chinese dishes like xiao long bao. but here, we’re letting it punch through a cold, crunchy cucumber salad
cold smashed cucumbers. soaked in black vinegar. kissed with chili crisp. it doesn’t need to be softened, warmed up, or made more palatable.
SMASHED CUCUMBER SALAD WITH BLACK VINEGAR + CHILI CRISP
COLD, CRUNCHY, UNAPOLOGETICALLY SHARP
fermented tang. cold crunch.
it takes less than 20 minutes, doesn’t require anything but a knife, and delivers more personality than most entrées. pair it with a pouch of microwave jasmine rice for a full meal. pile it next to grilled chicken, tuck it into a rice bowl, or eat it straight from the mixing bowl.
INGREDIENTS
• 1 english cucumber (or 3 persian cucumbers)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp hengshun 6-year aged zhenjiang vinegar
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp chili crisp (lao gan ma, fly by jing, or whatever you’ve got)
• 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• optional: fried garlic, shredded nori, furikake
INSTRUCTIONS
SMASH.
cut the cucumber lengthwise, then smash it with the flat of a knife or rolling pin until it cracks. slice into irregular chunks. toss with salt and let sit 10–15 minutes.DRAIN.
pour off the liquid. lightly squeeze to remove excess moisture.MIX.
in a small bowl, combine vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and chili crisp.TOSS.
add cucumbers to dressing and stir. let it marinate at least 5 minutes.TOP.
add something crunchy if you’re feeling it. serve cold.OPTIONAL.
blast your pouch of jasmine rice in the microwave - usually 90 seconds - then spoon the cucumbers on top for a fast, flavor-packed meal.
HENGSHUN ZHENJIANG VINEGAR - 6 YEAR AGED
RICH WITH CLAY-JAR HISTORY. DARK AND DELICIOUS LIKE A STORY YOU CAN DRINK.
fermented through a 40-step, 50-day process. aged in earthenware for six years. this isn’t just vinegar, it’s heritage in a bottle.
mellow sweetness, soft smoke, and a malty backbone that hums behind sharp chili and cool cucumber.
PAIR IT WITH:
whenever you’re cooking or need a soundtrack, you can listen to the DINNER PARTY playlist on Spotify.
this week’s flavor match is "Jungle" by Fred again.., Four Tet & Skrillex – pure rhythm and release. it crackles, stutters, and leaves your brain a little cooler than it found it, just like my cucumber salad.
this one’s easy to riff on.
swap in rice vinegar or white balsamic. add crushed ice and cold noodles and pretend you’re somewhere else for a while.
don’t complicate it.
see you next week.
JEREMY
lastly, your thoughts are always greatly appreciated and make this newsletter better each week. if you've got a minute, i'd love to hear from you in the poll below.
