If you're a fan of pickles straight from the jar, you'll love this recipe. If you're a fan of kimchi or other banchan, you'll also love this. 

Chinese restaurants overseas, even those in Chinatown, rarely serve appetizers. But in China, dinners at mid-range or higher end restaurants usually begin with a trail of cold appetizer dishes. You can get peanuts, tofu, turnips, carrots, radishes, mostly with a cold snappy bite to wet your appetite for the hot dishes to come. And if you're hungry and in desperate need of food NOW, it helps to have a bunch of tasty snacks to nibble on. 

The trick to making these cucumbers crisp is to drain the excess water out, by tossing them in salt and letting them sit for 20 minutes. If you don't have fresh red chilis available, you can add a couple teaspoonfuls of jarred chili sauce instead.

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More vegetarian Chinese recipes to try:

Sichuan Cucumber Salad

Shandong-Style Asparagus 

Turnip Cake (Law bok gow) 

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Spicy Pickled Cucumbers

4 to 5 kirby cucumbers
2 fresh Thai red chilis (bird's eye chilis), finely chopped
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
3 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 medium-sized carrot, very thinly sliced (ideally with a mandoline)

1 teaspoon sesame seed

Slice the cucumbers in half lengh-wise, then quarter them to end up with long wedges. Toss the cucumbers in salt and let stand for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, briefly cook the red chilis for 20 seconds. In a small bowl, mix together the red chilis, rice wine vinegar, salt, sugar, and sesame oil.

Drain the excess water from the cucumbers. Coat with the chili-vinegar mixture. Mix in carrot slices. Let sit for at least 1 hour at room temperature (or overnight in the fridge) to allow cucumbers to absorb the flavors. Serve cold or at room temperature. Sprinkle over with sesame seeds.