Asian-styled Pickled Cucumber

One of my favorite snacks/side dishes growing up was Asian-style pickled cucumber. It's lighter and sweeter than the American-style ones. I love having on the side of spicy Chinese or Indonesian food in a hot weather. There are so many variations of the recipe online - one with just salt and sugar; with or without any of these ingredients - rice vinegar, fish sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, onions, and shallots. I decided to use this one from Town and Country Markets with a slight modification because it's so simple and sounds so refreshing.


Ingredients:
2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon mirin (Japanese rice wine)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions:

• In a large bowl, sprinkle salt over cucumber slices and let sit for 20 minutes.
• Drain and cover with remaining ingredients.
• Refrigerate for at least 2 hour, or as long as overnight.