The Summer of the Irresponsible Boyfriend knew many lapses in judgment, starting with the boyfriend, dragging through the unpaid-electric-bill blackout, and ending when I took a hammer to our apartment’s sole shelf.
Still, we cooked, nearly every night. Keeping house was novel. Plus, we were broke. We had two standards: scallops with broccoli and tuna with peppers. Both called for lots of time and butter and dirty dishes. Had we never heard of cheese and cracker? Apparently not.
We took a single, disastrous vacation. En route we stopped to see friends, and these friends served us lunch. It was cheese. Prepping this dish called for unwrapping the blocks. Serving meant passing the knife. Downing it was delicious. We were stunned. We had no idea a good meal could be achieved without the shopping and chopping and scrubbing and scowling.
The lesson, unlike the boyfriend, stuck. Now in summer I serve my family cheese and pear. Tomato and basil. Or cucumber dressed with soy. Nothing farfetched and foolhardy — nothing so silly as two kids, playing grown-up.
Spicy Cucumber Salad
Prep: 10 minutes
Serves: 4
In her charming and instructive book, “Maangchi’s Real Korean Cooking,” the author claims there is no substitute for gochu-garu, a fine red powder found at Asian markets. In a pinch, I’d use 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes bolstered with a sprinkle of ground cayenne.
2 English (or 4 standard or 6 Kirby) cucumbers
1/4 cup thinly sliced onion
1 scallion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. Korean hot pepper flakes (gochu-garu)*
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds.
1 tsp. sugar
Slice: Halve cucumbers the long way. Scrape out any seeds. Slice thinly crosswise on the diagonal. Heap into a serving bowl.
Season: Just before serving, add remaining ingredients and toss well.
Adapted from “Maangchi’s Real Korean Cooking” by Maangchi with Lauren Chattman, who taught me to dine simply.
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