Serves: 8
Total Calories: 128

Stuffed Cucumbers: Filling I or II
3 large cucumbers
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water
oil for deep-frying
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon tomato sauce

1. Prepare either of the Stuffed Cucumber Filling mixtures.

2. Leave cucumbers unpeeled or peel them lengthwise in alternating strips. (The latter are not only decorative, but help the cucumbers hold their shape after cooking.) Cut crosswise in 2-inch sections.

3. Scoop out seeds and stuff cucumbers with filling mixture as above, but do not dredge with flour.

4. Blend cornstarch and cold water to a paste and brush over stuffed cucumber sections to coat. Reserve remaining paste.

5. Heat oil to smoking. Add cucumber sections a few at a time then reduce heat and deep-fry until pale golden. Drain on paper toweling.

6. Bring remaining water to a boil. Gently lower in cucumbers then simmer, covered, 10 minutes over very low heat.

7. Remove cucumbers to a serving platter, leaving liquids in pan. Add reserved cornstarch paste and tomato sauce, and stir in to thicken. Pour sauce over cucumbers and serve.

VARIATIONS:
* For the tomato sauce, substitute soy sauce.
* In step 6, top each stuffed cucumber section with either a mushroom cap or a 1-inch square of smoked ham.

TO SIMMER:
Omit steps 4 and 5. Place cucumber sections, stuffing-side up, in a pan with 1 cup water and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil then simmer, covered, until done (30 to 40 minutes). Pick up step 7.

TO STEAM:
Omit steps 4, 5 and 7. Arrange cucumber sections, stuffing-side up, on a heatproof platter. Steam on a rack 20 minutes (see HOW-TO, _Steaming). Season with salt and serve.

The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.

Nutritional Facts:

Serves: 8
Total Calories: 128
Calories from Fat: 27

More Recipes from the Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook Cookbook:
*Vegetable Dishes
Basic Buddhist Vegetable Dish
Basic Deep-Fried Bean Curd
Basic Stir-Fried Bean Curd
Basic Stir-Fried Vegetables
Basic Stir-Fried Vegetables: Combinations
Basic Stir-Fried Vegetables: Specific Vegetable Cooking Instructions
Basic Sweet-and-Pungent Vegetables
Braised Chinese Lettuce And Chestnuts
Braised Chinese Lettuce And Dried Shrimp
Braised Eggplant
Braised Eggplant With Bacon And Tomatoes
Braised Squash With Fish
Braised Squash: Fish Mixture
Braised Stuffed Bitter Melon
Braised Turnips With Meat Sauce
Creamed Chinese Cabbage
Deep-Fried Bamboo Shoots
Deep-Fried Bamboo Shoots And Salted Cabbage
Deep-Fried Bean Curd With Dried Shrimp Sauce
Deep-Fried Carrot Balls
Deep-Fried Potatoes And Carrots
Deep-Fried Simmered Winter Melon
Deep-Fried Stuffed Lotus Root
Food of the Forest
Hard Immortal Food
Miscellaneous Bean Curd
Mixed Vegetables I
Mixed Vegetables II
Mixed Vegetables III
Mixed Vegetables IV
Mixed Vegetables V
Mustard Cabbage And Meat Sauce
Simmered Cucumbers And Shrimp
Simmered Stuffed Green Peppers
Soft Immortal Food
Spinach And Peanuts
Steamed Bamboo Shoots With Chicken And Ham
Steamed Chinese Lettuce I
Steamed Chinese Lettuce II
Steamed Dried Mushrooms
Steamed Eggplant
Steamed Stuffed Bean Curd
Steamed Stuffed Bitter Melon
Steamed Stuffed Eggplant
Stir-Fried Asparagus With Egg Sauce
Stir-Fried Bamboo Shoots And Mushrooms
Stir-Fried Bean Curd with Chinese Sausages
Stir-Fried Bean Curd with Dried Mushrooms
Stir-Fried Bean Curd with Fresh Mushrooms
Stir-Fried Bean Curd with Roast Pork
Stir-Fried Bean Curd with Shrimp
Stir-Fried Bean Sprouts And Celery
Stir-Fried Bean Sprouts And Pork
Stir-Fried Bean Sprouts with Two Kinds of Peppers
Stir-Fried Cauliflower With Mushrooms And Water Chestnuts
Stir-Fried Celery And Mushrooms
Stir-Fried Chinese Cabbage And Dried Shrimp
Stir-Fried Chinese Cabbage And White Cheese
Stir-Fried Dried Mushrooms With Snow Peas And Bamboo Shoots
Stir-Fried Fragrant Eggplant
Stir-Fried Preserved Cabbage And Peas
Stir-Fried Sesame Cucumbers
Stir-Fried Snow Peas With Mushrooms
Stir-Fried Snow Peas With Pork, Mushrooms And Bamboo Shoots
Stir-Fried Spinach And Mushrooms
Stir-Fried Spinach And White Cheese
Stir-Fried String Beans And White Cheese
Stir-Fried Sweet-and Pungent Preserved Cabbage
Stuffed Cucumbers I
Stuffed Cucumbers II
Stuffed Cucumbers: Filling I
Stuffed Cucumbers: Filling II
Stuffed Eggplant: Filling I
Stuffed Eggplant: Filling II
Stuffed Green Pepper: Fish Stuffing
Stuffed Green Pepper: Pork Stuffing
Stuffed Green Pepper: Vegetable Stuffing
Stuffed Lotus Root: Filling
Sweet-and-Pungent Mustard Cabbage
Three Winters