Szechwan Cucumber Salad

2 tb Small dried wood ear

-mushrooms 2 Cucumbers

4 Red hot peppers cut in thin

-rounds 2 ts Light soy sauce

2 tb Chinese white vinegar

2 tb Sugar

1 ts Salt

1 tb Sesame oil

Pour boiling water over tree ears; let stand for 15 minutes. Peel cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise, scrape out seeds. Slice into thin half-moons. When mushrooms are soft, drain, rinse and dry. (Slice `em if they`re too big. Wood ears will quadruple in size when soaked++SC.) Combine with remaining ingredients. Let stand for 15 minutes then toss again before serving. NOTE: (Wood ears can be found in Chinese markets. After soaking they have little taste but lots of crunch. They`re there for the texture. I can`t think of anything to substitute (maybe raw carrots or water chestnuts) except for dried duck web or jellyfish and you`re much more likely to find wood ears than those items. Be sure to use the dark, cooked, Asian sesame oil rather than the light stuff in health food stores. I`d make this before the ribs and chill it well while doing the rest.) It`s from the same article by Bruce Cost. Posted by Stephen Ceideburg April 22 1990.