Baked Cucumber Fries ~
a healthy savoury crunchy snack that you won't have guilty eating them.
I’ve decided to try a different twist of FRIES when I manage to get a bunch of beautiful and affordable Japanese cucumbers in the market today. They cost me 50cents for 5 of them and we all know a similar side dish will definitely cost me around $20 in your typical cafes... what a great snack to make at home when you are enjoying your weekend movie marathon.
Of cos they do not exactly taste like your typical French fries because after all, it’s still a cucumber. But they are obviously healthier since its oven baked without any oil. And the Samsung Smart Oven that I am using has the Hot Blast function that works like the "Convection" mode in traditional oven but it generates direct downstreaming heat for crispier results and with a bigger fan, which also gives you more powerful heat and even circulation - especially with the bread crumbs and parmesan coating, in reduced and fast cooking time.
It’ll be best if you have matching dipping sauce but they are also perfect on its own.
Ingredients
5 Japanese cucumber/3 cucumber
4tbsp bread crumbs
2tbsp parmesan cheese (grated/powder)
2tsp seasoning of your choice (like wasabi salt/italian seasoning) or a mixture of the following:
1tsp garlic powder
1/4tsp salt
1/4tsp pepper
1tsp chilli powder (optional)
and for myself this is my fav seasoning: Cajun Spice Blend
Mayonnaise Dipping Sauce
2tbsp mayonnaise
1tbsp lime juice
1tsp garlic powder
1tsp chilli powder
1tsp chives
Mix all of the above in a small bowl and they are ready to be used as dipping sauce.
Direction
1. Quartered the cucumber and cut into fries length.
2. In a bowl, mix bread crumb, parmesan cheese and seasoning.
3. In another bowl, add enough milk to dip in your cucumber.
4. Preheat your oven to 200C.
5. Dip cucumber strip in milk and place it in the crumb mixture bowl to coat evenly. Repeat for the rest of cucumbers.
(I used chopsticks to do this step and my hands stay clean)
6. Line on baking sheet and bake for @ 200C for 15-20min or until the crumbs slightly turned golden.
(I baked in Samsung Smart Oven on Hot Blast mode @200C for 15 minutes; it definitely gives more even and quick cooking results)
7. Served immediately while its hot on its own or with dipping sauce.
