What a Chinese cucumber contains, its detailed composition. What are the health benefits and when it can be dangerous. How to cook it at home according to all the rules. Note! A very great health benefit of Chinese cucumber lies not only in the pulp, but also in the juice with seeds. They are consumed in their pure form, without mixing with other ingredients.
Harm and contraindications to the use of Chinese cucumber
This is almost the only vegetable that can be safely introduced into your diet for almost every person. But do not put too much on it, as it contains a lot of water. If it is poorly excreted from the body, then stagnation is possible. This leads to swelling of the ankles, legs, face, hands. As a result, the kidneys and bladder are heavily stressed, which are unable to cope with such a volume of fluid.
You can not introduce Chinese cucumber into the diet with the following problems:
- Colitis … The danger is both inflammation of the colon and rectum. In this case, the damaged mucous membrane cannot be restored. You should be especially careful with an exacerbation of the disease.
- Gastritis … It is not recommended to abuse the product for those with increased stomach acidity. Otherwise, its level may rise even more and provoke an ulcer.
- Nephritis … With this disease, urine already has an alkaline reaction, and cucumber only enhances it. This can lead to the development of kidney failure or organ inflammation. It is especially not recommended to use a vegetable with salt in such a situation.
- Renal failure … This is a very dangerous disease in which it is not allowed to eat both salted and fresh vegetables. They put too much stress on the kidneys, which, being sick, cannot act as a "filter".
- Biliary dyskinesia … In this case, it is strictly forbidden to use preserves and foods with an abundant salt content. If this warning is ignored, bile stasis can occur.
Important! The existing contraindications for fresh consumption of Chinese cucumber are not as strict as in the case of pickles.
Chinese cucumber recipes
This vegetable is somehow not accepted to be thermally processed. In cooking, it is more common to eat it raw or canned. All this is rather strange, because with it you get quite tasty salads, side dishes, first courses (soups, okroshka). It will be especially relevant in the case of making various sandwiches in the summer. The best addition to it will be eggs, potatoes, herbs, sausages and a variety of meats. It is not necessary to peel it from the peel, if it is not tough and not rough.
Here are some interesting recipes:
- Omelette … Beat 6 eggs with a mixer until foam forms, and mix with the pulp of 1 cucumber. Season with salt and pepper. Fry pieces of bacon in a hot skillet and pour the gruel here. Sprinkle it with chopped green onions and dill. Pour ketchup over the dish before serving, eat it hot.
- Sandwiches … Boil 3 eggs, peel and cut into slices. Next, put them on toasted slices of white bread, 2-3 pieces each, garnish with cucumber rings and a parsley umbrella. Place everything on a large plate lined with lettuce leaves.
- German soup … Cucumbers (2 pcs.) Wash, peel and cut into cubes. Boil potatoes chopped in the same way (3 pcs.), Drain and heat it. Now add milk (500 ml), sour cream (3 tablespoons) and salt to taste. Combine all ingredients and sprinkle with chopped green onions and dill on top. After that, you can immediately serve it to the table.
- Stew with meat … Chop the beef (200 g) and fry in vegetable oil. Then add chopped onions (2 pcs.), One carrot, bell peppers (2 pcs.), Chopped garlic (3 cloves) and 2 grated cucumbers without peel. Keep all this on low heat for about 20 minutes, then put it in a saucepan, fill it with water, put 2 tbsp. l. sour cream, pepper and salt to taste. Simmer the stew with the lid closed for 30 minutes, then drip a little lemon juice into it.
- Okroshka … Boil the beef (300 g), cut it into small pieces, mix with boiled potatoes without peel prepared in the same way (4 pcs.), Raw cucumbers (2 pcs.), Two boiled quail eggs, chopped green onions and dill. Next, add salt to the dish and pour in 10 ml of lemon juice to give it a richer taste.
- Canning … Due to the large size of the cucumbers, it is better to divide them into 3-4 parts. Vegetables should be covered in a peel, but without tails. First, wash them and soak them in water for about 3 hours. In the meantime, sterilize the lids and 0.5-liter jars, in which you will need to put 2 cloves of garlic, 1 hot pepper and a few sweet rings, bay leaves (3 pcs.) And black peppercorns (5 pcs.). Then the brine is prepared - water is boiled, salt and sugar are dissolved in it. For 1 liter of liquid of these ingredients there should be 2 tbsp. l. and 2 tsp. respectively. Then the tamped vegetables are poured with liquid and the jars are rolled up. Then they should be turned upside down, covered with a blanket and kept so for three days. Pickled cucumbers can be used to make vinaigrette, Olivier and more.
- Snack … Boil 5 chicken eggs, cut them in half lengthwise, take out the yolk, and instead put the salted peeled cucumber gruel. Insert parsley sprigs on top. The appetizer is served cold.
Note! It is almost impossible to find natural cucumbers in winter; To make them grow well in greenhouses, they are often fed with harmful additives that are easily absorbed by the skin. To avoid poisoning and indigestion, it is recommended to always remove it before cooking or wash it thoroughly under hot water.
Interesting facts about Chinese cucumber
The bush of this plant is much larger than that of the normal species. To prevent the stems from breaking, they are tied to high rods. It is considered the most suitable for cultivation in greenhouses and greenhouses, perfectly tolerating both low and high temperatures. Despite this, summer residents in Europe are in no hurry to cultivate it in their gardens.
Surprisingly, the fruits grow in just 2-3 days. More than 20 kg of crop can be harvested from one bush at a time! There are 3 varieties of this vegetable - resistant to disease, cold and heat. All of them just feel great in the sun and in the shade, in black soil and on sandy soils. But none of them will give you seeds suitable for planting. Therefore, every year you need to buy new ones, which is not very convenient and profitable.
In ancient Rome, under the emperor Tiberius, these vegetables were the main ones on the table. In the summer they were grown in the open sun, and in the winter - in closed ground. Most often they were placed in the form of slices on the table, without mixing with anything. The long cucumbers now found on the market are very similar to Chinese ones, having approximately the same size, shape, color and taste. By the way, their compositions are almost identical.
Unlike ordinary species, this one is stored for a very short time - no more than 2 days. After this time, it loses its elasticity, becomes not so juicy and soft, acquires a bitter taste. Such vegetables are completely unsuitable for preservation and look unappetizing. An overripe cucumber almost always has a rough peel, so the one that has been growing in the garden for more than 2-3 days should be peeled before use.
Watch a video about Chinese cucumber:
Compared to other vegetables, Chinese cucumber recipes are much more difficult to find. The thing is that it is traditionally served in European countries in the form of a regular cut. It is considered an exotic vegetable and has not yet taken root in the refrigerators of Europeans, unlike Indians, Thais and Chinese. Having tried it, you probably will not feel much difference between it and a more modest relative (sowing cucumber), familiar in our area.
