This Chinese Sichuan Smashed Cucumber Salad Recipe borrows from a Xi'an sauce I once had. Cucumbers, garlic, and a secret chili ingredient were what I used to recreate this crisp, cool, tangy, spicy marvel.
Peel the cucumber into long strips such that you're alternating one long peeled length with one long unpeeled length. When you're done, you should have a cucumber zebra, so to speak 😀 You're doing this to add a little color variation, and also to allow the sauce to flavor but not water-log the outside of the cucumber.
Using the flat of your knife--or a cleaver if you trust yourself with one, I can't be trusted with one--roughly smash the cucumber on the side to smoosh it a bit. You want it to crack but not turn into cucumber purée.