Cucumber Stir-fried

The humble cucumber is good eaten raw or cooked. Here I'll share my recipe for simple stir-fried cucumber. If you like, you could make up your own variations, see suggestions below.

Ingredients:
- 1 cucumber
- 1 heaped teaspoon of chopped garlic
- 1 tablespoon oil

Seasoning:
- pinch of salt

Method:
- peel & wash the cucumber, remove the centre, cut into thin strips (maybe about 1cm by 4cm, & about 1 to 2mm thick; or about 2cm by 6cm, 3mm thick)
- heat the oil in a wok, add garlic, stir-fry for a short while until fragrant
- add cucumber & stir-fry until soft & almost transparent (this might take some time, about 5 minutes if you cut the cucumber thin enough & use a fire strong enough)
- add salt & other seasoning according to your preference
- add a little water for a moister dish
- cover & stew, make sure you add enough water if you want to cook a longer time to make the cucumber really soft (trust me, it tastes delicious when thoroughly cooked too, though very different from its raw taste)

Variations:
- if you like, slowly add a beaten egg in a circular motion at the last stage
- or if you prefer prawns instead, you could stir-fry them a short while till they turn pink, ladle out and cook as per above instructions, then add the prawns back to the cucumber during the last part of the process. This gives the dish a nice colour too