Cold Cucumber Soup | A Series of Unfortunate Events

(Recipe originally posted Feb. 2017 for Fiction Kitchen Podcast Ep. 54: A Series of Unfortunate Events.)

“Soup’s on!” Aunt Josephine called from the kitchen. “Please come to dinner!”

“Oh good,” Violet said. “There’s nothing like hot soup on a chilly evening.”

“Actually, it’s not hot soup,” Aunt Josephine said. “I never cook anything hot because I’m afraid of turning the stove on. It might burst into flames. I’ve made chilled cucumber soup for dinner.”

–A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Wide Window by Lemony Snicket

Aunt Josephine’s Cold Cucumber Soup

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Ingredients:
1 Long Hothouse/English Cucumber, sliced & matchstick-cut
1/2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 Large Clove Garlic, crushed/minced
1/4 Small Onion, julienned very thinly
1 Green Onion, green part only, sliced into thin rings
2 Tbsp. Rice Vinegar
1 Tbsp. Sugar
2 tsp. Fish Sauce
1 Cup Cold Water
2 Packed Tbsp. Chopped Fresh Mint
Toasted Sesame Seeds (optional) for garnish
Ice Cubes (optional)

Directions:
In a medium bowl, toss the matchstick-cut cucumber with the soy sauce & let sit for 10 minutes. Toss in the rest of the ingredients excluding the sesame seeds & ice cubes, & chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes.

Serve in individual bowls with a sprinkling of sesame seeds (optional). You can also plop a few ice cubes into each dish, but it’s not necessary. Note: If you’d like a little color & spice, thinly slice (& discard the seeds of) a red chili & toss it in with the other ingredients before chilling for 15 minutes.

Note: Adapted from an awesome Korean cucumber soup recipe from Robin Ha’s “Banchan in Two Pages”!

* For more food from A Series of Unfortunate Events try my Pasta Puttanesca! *