This Asian Cucumber Salad is spicy, sweet, and refreshing with rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, ginger, and chili paste. Enjoy this tasty salad with grilled chicken, pan-seared mahi mahi, or Japanese dumplings. I like to serve them for a light lunch with spring rolls and white tea.
What In This Post
Ingredients Needed
- Cucumbers: preferably English cucumbers, but you can use Persian cucumbers
- Salt: for salting the cucumbers and getting out the extra moisture
- Rice vinegar
- Soy sauce: preferably low-sodium
- Granulated sugar
- Sesame oil: really adds a toasty, nutty flavor to the dressing
- Garlic: fresh, of course
- Grated ginger: or ginger paste
- Chili paste: also known as sambal oelek
- Green onions: also known as scallions
- Sesame seeds
How to make Asian Cucumber Salad
First, add the sliced cucumber to a bowl in several layers, sprinkling the layers with salt. Set the bowl aside and let the salt do its magic by drawing out the moisture.
Now. in a small bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and chili paste. Drain any excess moisture from the cucumbers, pat them dry with paper towels, and drizzle with the Asian cucumber dressing. Toss to coat and top with thinly sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds.
Recipe Tips
- Slice the cucumbers a little less than 1/4 inch thick. Use English cucumbers for tender skins that don’t need peeling.
- If you prefer to place the cucumbers in a colander in the sink and sprinkle with salt, that method works well, too.
- Mix the dressing up to 2 days in advance. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
- I like to use ginger paste. One tablespoon of paste equals one tablespoon of fresh ginger. Store it in the fridge. It stays fresh for up to a month.
- Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. The cucumbers will not be as crisp, but the salad will still be delicious.
What to serve with Asian Cucumber Salad
- Protein – grilled chicken, baked or grilled fish, grilled shrimp
- Appetizers – potstickers. gyoza, crab rangoon, bacon-wrapped water chestnuts
- Soup – wonton soup, miso soup, hot and sour soup, egg drop soup
Frequently Asked Questions
Sambal Oelek is ground fresh chili paste and it can be found in the Asian food section of the grocery store. If stored in the fridge, it has a very long shelf life (6-9 months). I use it for some of my other recipes, like Bang Bang Shrimp.
In a large dry skillet over medium-high heat, add the sesame seeds and cook until golden brown and fragrant, shaking the skillet several times. Don’t leave the skillet unattended, as it only takes a couple of minutes, and you don’t want them to burn. Remove the sesame seeds to a small bowl as soon as they are toasted to keep the residual heat from burning them. Add them to the dish right before serving.
More Cucumber Recipes
Asian Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb cucumbers preferably English cucumbers
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- ½ teaspoon chili paste sambal oelek
- 2 green onions thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Add the sliced cucumbers to a bowl in several layers sprinkling layers with salt. Set the bowl aside for about 15 minutes and let the salt do its magic by drawing out the moisture.
- In a small bowl, whisk the rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and chili paste together.
- Drain any excess moisture from the cucumbers, pat them dry with paper towels, and drizzle with the Asian cucumber dressing. Toss to coat and top with thinly sliced green onions and toasted sesame seeds.
Notes
- Slice the cucumbers a little less than 1/4 inch thick. Use English cucumbers for tender skins that don’t need peeling.
- If you prefer to place the cucumbers in a colander in the sink and sprinkle with salt, that method works well, too.
- Mix the dressing up to 2 days in advance. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
- I like to use ginger paste. One tablespoon of paste equals one tablespoon of fresh ginger. Store it in the fridge. It stays fresh for up to a month.
- Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. The cucumbers will not be as crisp, but the salad will still be delicious.
Nutrition
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Unconventional Kira
Great cucumber recipe with so much flavor. I was looking for some new recipes to use up all my garden cucumbers.
Sandra
My favorite way to eat cucumber!! Thanks so much for this recipe! It is so good!
Beth Pierce
The pleasure is all mine, Sandra!
Eric
Was absolutely fantastic! I served it with some grilled salmon and my wife loved it.
Lisa
This recipe was so delicious! This is my summer rotation list. Thanks for the recipe!
Erin
Excellent and refreshing salad. A nice change from the usual cucumber salad.
Marley
Hi!
I came across your Asian Cucumber Salad recipe, and it looks absolutely delicious! The combination of flavors and the fresh crunch of cucumbers sounds delightful. Thanks for sharing this refreshing and easy-to-make dish. Can’t wait to give it a try!
Nadalie
I love cucumbers and this is really perfect! I love making a lot of salads but this one is truly amazing. Thanks so much!
Tammy
I love Asian style cucumbers and the longer they marinade the better they get. Love this!
Claudia
This cucumber salad is so easy to make and very healthy! I need more easy recipes like this.
Yeah Lifestyle
This Asian cucumber salad was so easy to put together. It is fresh and tasty and it has great flavor. Will have to eat this more often.
Katie
This was absolutely amazing and delicious and really simple to make as well. Perfect for a summer snack or light lunch!
Karen
Asian and cucumber, I am sold!!! I can’t wait to make the salad, it looks so delicious and is very easy to make.
Marysa
Looks so garlicky! What a great summertime dish. I will have to grab some locally grown cukes and garlic and try your recipe.