Korean Bean Sprout Salad

This fresh, crunchy salad, with just a touch of heat from the Korean pepper, is a great side to all sorts of dishes. It’s important to blanch the bean sprouts and salt the cucumbers for the perfect texture.
Ingredients
- 4 cups bean sprouts
- 1 English cucumber
- 3 Tbsp salt
- ½ cup rice vinegar
- 3 cloves garlic, grated
- 2 Tbsp ginger, grated
- 5 scallions, sliced thin
- 3 Tbsp Korean pepper
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 3 Tbsp sesame oil
- ¼ cup sesame seeds
Method
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1
Bring 8 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot. Rinse bean sprouts, add them to the pot and blanch for 10 seconds. Immediately pour them into a colander and drain. Do not rinse.
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2
Slice cucumbers into ¼-inch X ¼-inch X-2 inch sticks. Place in a bowl with salt and mix well. Let drain for 10 minutes.
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3
Rinse cucumber in running water and squeeze water out with your hands.
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4
Pour rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, scallions, chile, sugar and sesame oil into a bowl.
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5
Heat a small pan on medium-high and toast sesame seeds until golden. Pour into vinaigrette immediately. Stir well.
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6
Add the blanched sprouts and cucumber. Stir well and taste. Add salt if necessary.