Featuring crisp cucumbers, and a spicy, tangy, savory dressing, this easy Asian cucumber salad is the perfect appetizer or side dish! Bonus: it comes together in only 5 minutes!
About This Recipe
This is the first Chinese dish that I ever learned to make. And I bet it was the same for many of my Chinese readers too! It's super easy, flavorful, and ready in just 5 minutes. All you do is make a dressing and then pour it over cucumbers.
The dressing for Asian cucumber salads is very different from Western-style salads. It uses more Asian ingredients like chili oil, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. You get spicy, savory, sweet, and tangy all at once! Cucumbers are the perfect canvas for bold flavors. They don't have much flavor on their own so they allow all the other flavors to shine.
Cucumbers have a lot of moisture, so the key is to wait until serving time before mixing them with the dressing. Once the cucumbers touch the dressing, they will start releasing water, which dilutes the sauce and softens the cucumbers. There isn't really any way around this so I just like to dress the cucumbers as close to serving time as possible. That way they stay crisp and flavorful.
Key Ingredients
Cucumbers: I used two large English cucumbers for this recipe. I left the skins on for more fiber, but feel free to peel them if you don't like the skin.
Light soy sauce: This is what gives the dressing umami and saltiness.
Sugar: I used a whole tablespoon of sugar. You could use slightly less if you're sugar-adverse.
Rice vinegar: I love the flavor of rice vinegar in cucumber salads. If you're looking for a more Chinese flavor, you can try using Chinkiang vinegar (the black vinegar that comes in a yellow bottle). Personally, I find the flavor of Chinkiang vinegar too strong though.
Chili oil: I used chili oil with crisps (not just the oil) because I love the extra texture that the chili flakes add.
Salt: I found that the salad needs a little bit of salt in addition to the soy sauce.
Sesame seeds: I prefer sesame seeds over sesame oil because you get some texture as well. But feel free to use toasted sesame oil if that's all you have.
Instructions
STEP 1: Slice the cucumbers at an angle into ยผ-inch thick slices (this will give them more surface area for soaking up all the flavors!)
STEP 2: In a small bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients.
STEP 3: Right before serving, toss the cucumbers with the sauce. Enjoy!
๐ Recipe
Easy Asian Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 2 large English cucumbers
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1-2 teaspoons chili oil
Instructions
- Cut the cucumbers at an angle into ยผ-inch slices and transfer to a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, combine the sugar, sesame seeds, salt, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and chili oil.
- Just before serving, pour the sauce over the cucumbers and toss. Please note that the longer the cucumbers sit in the sauce, the softer they get, so I recommend serving them right away.
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