From the Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook. Cooked cucumbers are more common in Asian cuisines, where they work wonders in stir fries and side dishes. Subscribers to Cooked have a wealth of recipes at their fingertips and with this handy guide, food writer Debora Robertson shows you how make the most of your subscription and how to build your personal library of all the recipes you want to cook. Although cooked in a wok, the cucumber pieces are colored by laying them more-or-less flat against the surface of the wok, a method known in Chinese as jian (pan-fry) rather than chao (stir-fry). Try pickling them as a delicious addition to burgers or sandwiches, or whizz them up into a cool and creamy soup.

Got a glut of cucumbers?
Julia Child has a recipe for cooked cucumbers in Mastering the Art of French Cooking , in which she actually bakes them in the oven. But they shouldn’t be reserved just for that part of the world. This is an extraordinary way of cooking cucumber, revealing an unexpected side to the vegetable.