Stir Fried Cucumber Recipe- Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Vegan, and Delicious

I had a lot of cucumbers that I got for free, thankfully, and while I love cucumbers in salads and in chilled soups, I like variety, and don't like eating the same dish over and over, no matter how tasty it is. So I was looking for a cooked cucumber dish (I knew I could cook cucumbers ever since I made herbed baked cucumbers).
My friend Robin suggested that I make stir fried cucumbers. I found a few different recipes for that, and this is how I combined them all and added my own unique twist. They taste pretty amazing- I think cucumbers and soy sauce are absolutely a winning combination- and are terrific both hot and cold. Taste and texture-wise, they are pretty similar to "al-dente"-ly (is that even a word? lol) stir fried zucchini when you cook it this way- soft, but with a bit of bite, without the bitterness you sometimes find in cucumbers.
My cucumbers have small seeds in them, without the big gelatinous seedy that you find often in American cucumbers, so I don't take out the seeds, but if your cukes are the standard American cukes, you might want to scoop out the seeded texture before cooking them this way.

Stir Fried Cucumber Recipe- Gluten Free, Sugar Free, and Delicious

Ingredients:
2 pounds cucumbers
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons oil
2 medium onions
3 cloves garlic
1 inch knob fresh ginger (fresh would also work- use half a teaspoon or so)
2 tsp coconut sugar, 1/2 teaspoon honey (or 1 teaspoon white sugar) or leave out entirely
1-2 tablespoons soy sauce (make sure to use gluten free soy sauce to keep this gluten free)
A sprinkle or pinch of hot pepper flakes (optional)

Ingredients:
1. Slice up your cucumbers into thin spears.

2. Mix the cucumbers with the salt, and let them sit for 10 minutes. This is usually when I start the next process, chopping up the other stuff, starting to saute it, so that by the time I need to add the cucumbers, they're finished soaking.

3. Chop up your onions, and mince up your garlic and ginger.

4. Saute the onions and garlic and ginger in the oil until starting to get golden.

5. Squeeze the liquid out of the cucumbers, and rinse off the cucumbers. Strain and, if desired, dry lightly with a towel. (For me, it just means I dump the cukes in a towel after they are strained, wrap up the cucumber spears, and give it a whirl like that in the air for a few seconds.)

6. Add the cucumbers to the onions, etc... and saute for 10-15 minutes, or until they start to soften. Don't cook them too much- you want them to remain al dente.

7. Add soy sauce, sweetener (if using), and hot pepper flakes (if using). Cook for 2 more minutes.

Serve hot or cold.

Enjoy!

Have you ever cooked cucumbers before? How about stir fried them? Does this like a recipe you'd try out? What recipes would you be making if you had a bunch of cucumbers?

This is what else I'll be doing with my cucumbers:

Korean Cucumber Salad- Oi Sangchae

Korean Cold Cucumber Soup- Oi Naengguk

 

Quick Vinegar Pickles

   

Cucumber Agua Fresca with Lemon and Mint

Linking up to Allergy Free Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday