Asian Cucumber Salad Recipe
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Asian cucumber salad is the side I make when dinner is rice or noodles and the plate needs something cold and crunchy. It’s also where the extra cucumbers from my garden go every summer. The dressing is pantry staples: rice vinegar, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, a little sugar and chili flakes. I’ve made some version of it for years. Smashed on a weeknight, accordion cut when I want it to look like I tried.
Why This Recipe Works
- Ten minutes of work, no cooking. The other 15 are the cucumbers draining while you get on with dinner.
- Salted first, so it stays crisp. Pulling the water out before the dressing goes on is why this Asian cucumber salad doesn’t turn into soup in the bowl.
- Light, with big flavor. About 90 calories a serving, and most of those come from the sesame oil and peanuts that carry the flavor.
- One dressing, three cuts. Sliced, smashed or accordion. Same bowl, different crunch.
Full quantities are in the recipe card. These are the ones worth a word.
- Cucumbers. Persian or English. Thin skin, small seeds, no peeling. Trader Joe’s and Costco sell Persian ones by the bag. Peel and seed a regular slicing cucumber.
- Rice vinegar. Buy the unseasoned kind. Seasoned rice vinegar already has sugar and salt, so halve the sugar if that’s your bottle.
- Toasted sesame oil. The dark amber one, not the pale cold-pressed oil.
- Soy sauce. Regular or reduced sodium. Tamari keeps it gluten free, and coconut aminos keeps it soy free (halve the sugar, it’s already sweet).
- Chili flakes. I use gochugaru, the Korean chili flakes, from H Mart, Whole Foods or Amazon. It’s fruity and milder than it looks. Red pepper flakes work at about a third of the amount.
- Equipment. I use a Victorinox 8 inch chef’s knife, toss everything in a Pyrex glass mixing bowl, and keep leftovers in Pyrex glass storage containers.
How to Make Asian Cucumber Salad
1. Cut the cucumbers. Slice into thin rounds, smash them (see Variations), or go accordion: lay the cucumber between two chopsticks and make thin straight cuts down to the chopsticks. Flip it over and cut again on the diagonal.
2. Salt and drain. Toss the cucumbers with the salt in a colander and leave them for 15 minutes. The water ends up in the sink and not in your dressing. Pat dry.
3. Whisk the dressing. Rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, garlic, ginger and chili flakes in a small bowl. Whisk until the sugar dissolves.
4. Toss. Pour the dressing over the cucumbers, add the green onions, and toss until every piece is coated and glossy. Hands work best for accordion cucumbers.
5. Finish and serve. Scatter sesame seeds and crushed roasted peanuts over the top. Serve right away, or chill for up to 30 minutes.
Rekha’s Note
The one thing that goes wrong with this salad is water. Skip the salting and within ten minutes the dressing is diluted. Salt, wait, pat dry. The number to watch here is sodium, not calories. Most of the draining salt goes down the sink, and I switch to reduced-sodium soy sauce when this sits next to another salty dish.
Rekha
Asian Cucumber Salad
Equipment
- Chef’s knife
- Colander
- 2 chopsticks (accordion cut) or a rolling pin (smashed)
Ingredients
Cucumbers
- 1 pound Persian or English cucumbers about 3 medium; sliced, smashed or accordion cut
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt for draining
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
Dressing
- 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce regular or reduced sodium; tamari for gluten free
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 clove garlic minced or grated
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger grated
- 1 to 3 teaspoons gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) or 1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
To finish
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon roasted peanuts crushed; optional
Instructions
- Cut the cucumbers. Slice into thin rounds, or smash whole cucumbers with a rolling pin until they split and cut into bite-size chunks. For accordion cut, lay a cucumber between two chopsticks, make thin straight cuts down to the chopsticks, flip it over and cut again on the diagonal.
- Toss the cucumbers with the salt in a colander. Leave to drain for 15 minutes, then pat dry with a clean towel.
- In a small bowl, whisk the rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, garlic, ginger and chili flakes until the sugar dissolves.
- Put the cucumbers and green onions in a mixing bowl, pour over the dressing, and toss until every piece is coated.
- Top with sesame seeds and crushed peanuts. Serve right away, or chill for up to 30 minutes.
Rekha’s Notes
- Korean style (oi muchim): use 1 tablespoon gochugaru, skip the ginger and add an extra clove of garlic.
- Seasoned rice vinegar already contains sugar and salt. If using it, halve the sugar.
- No rice vinegar: use the same amount of apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.
- Storage: up to 2 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Crispest in the first 24 hours. Do not freeze.
- Nutrition is an estimate and assumes most of the draining salt is discarded with the liquid.
Nutrition
- Watery bowl? The cucumbers weren’t drained long enough, or they went in wet. Pour off the liquid and add a splash more vinegar and soy sauce.
- Too salty? Add another cucumber to the bowl you have. Next time, give the cucumbers a quick rinse after draining and use reduced-sodium soy sauce.
- Too sharp? A pinch more sugar rounds off the vinegar.
- Bitter cucumbers. Trim the stem end generously and peel thick-skinned cucumbers. That’s where the bitterness sits.
Asian Cucumber Salad Dressing
Once you know the ratio you can stop measuring: two parts rice vinegar to one part each of soy sauce, toasted sesame oil and sugar. Garlic, ginger and chili go in to taste. I often double it for cold noodles and rice bowls. It keeps in a jar in the fridge for up to a week.
Variations
- Asian smashed cucumber salad. Whack whole cucumbers with a rolling pin until they split, then cut into chunks. The rough edges hold more dressing than a clean slice.
- Korean cucumber salad (oi muchim). Use a full tablespoon of gochugaru, skip the ginger and add an extra clove of garlic.
- Vietnamese cucumber salad. Swap the rice vinegar for lime juice, leave out the sesame oil, and finish with mint, cilantro and extra peanuts.
- California roll cucumber salad. Skip the chili, fold in diced avocado and torn nori, and finish with a little sriracha mayo.
- Thai style. Red onion, more peanuts, a sweeter dressing: see my Thai cucumber salad.
Serve It With
- Next to gyeran mari, the Korean rolled omelette, the pairing I come back to most.
- With a bowl of stir fry noodles or low-carb fried rice.
- Alongside eggplant tofu and steamed rice.
- As the cool side to a hot bowl of dumpling soup.
Meal Prep and Storage
Dressed salad keeps in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, and it’s crispest in the first 24 hours. After that the cucumbers soften and it eats more like a quick pickle. If you like that, my homemade cucumber pickle is the next step. For meal prep or a party, keep the drained cucumbers and the dressing separate and toss just before eating. Don’t freeze it.
Common Questions
What can I use instead of rice vinegar in Asian cucumber salad?
Apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar, in the same amount. Plain white vinegar is sharper, so use a quarter less and add a pinch more sugar.
Is Asian cucumber salad the same as Korean cucumber salad?
Korean cucumber salad, oi muchim, is one kind of Asian cucumber salad, made with gochugaru and plenty of garlic. The Korean version of this recipe is in Variations.
Is Asian cucumber salad good for you?
It’s a low-calorie vegetable side, at about 90 calories a serving. The thing to watch is sodium, so use reduced-sodium soy sauce if that matters for you.
More Cucumber salad Recipes
- Cucumber Raita Recipe
- Mizeria Salad (Polish yogurt and Cucumber salad)
- Tzatziki Recipe (Greek cucumber and yogurt sauce)
- Spiced Cucumber Salad with Whipped Yogurt
More Salad Recipes
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