Mama Zhao’s Sichuan-Style Smashed Cucumber Salad 拍黄瓜

Sep 18, 2026Yao Zhao

拍黄瓜 — The Recipe That Started 50Hertz

This is my mom’s recipe, and in many ways, it’s where the 50Hertz story began.

In 2018, I was working at the World Bank and missing home, so I went back to Chongqing for Chinese New Year. One day, my mom — Mama Zhao — made one of her simplest dishes: smashed cucumber salad, 拍黄瓜.

Just before serving, she drizzled green Sichuan pepper oil over the top.

That bright, citrusy, floral tingle tasted like home. I brought a bottle of the oil back to the U.S. and started wondering: Why should this flavor be limited to Chinese food?

That question eventually helped inspire 50Hertz.

For years, people have asked me for Mama Zhao’s cucumber salad recipe. The problem? Like many moms, she never really used one — a little of this, a splash of that, taste, adjust.

When she visited me recently, I finally got her to slow down long enough for me to measure everything and write it down.

So here it is: Mama Zhao’s recipe, finally documented.

Ingredients

For the cucumber

1 English cucumber, about 14 oz / 400 g
½ tsp salt, optional

For the dressing

1½ tbsp sweet soy sauce
3 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
1 tbsp crushed garlic
1 tbsp chili oil, with or without sediment
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp 50Hertz Green Sichuan Pepper Oil

Directions

1. Prepare the cucumber

Peel the cucumber and cut it into small, irregular chunks. You can also lightly smash it with the back of a knife first for more texture.

If you have time, toss with the salt and let sit for about 30 minutes, then drain. This seasons the cucumber, draws out excess water, and helps keep it crunchy.

Mama Zhao preparing cucumber for Sichuan smashed cucumber salad

2. Make the dressing

Mix the sweet soy sauce, black vinegar, garlic, chili oil, and sesame oil.

Mixing the dressing for Mama Zhao's smashed cucumber salad

3. Toss and finish

Pour the dressing over the cucumber and toss until well coated. Just before serving, drizzle 1 teaspoon of Green Sichuan Pepper Oil over the salad and toss once more.

Finishing Mama Zhao's smashed cucumber salad with 50Hertz Green Sichuan Pepper Oil

The final drizzle is the magic touch. Adding the Green Sichuan Pepper Oil at the very end keeps its bright, citrusy aroma and signature tingle front and center.

Serve immediately for that cool, crunchy, garlicky, tangy, spicy, mouth-tingling bite.