Asian Spicy Cucumber Salad is a great way to use up any cucumbers you may have. In 5 minutes with just 6 ingredients, you can have a light and refreshing side that you’ll absolutely love.
I love flavorful and delicious salads. These are two family favorites: mediterranean chickpea salad and my cold beet salad.
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Why this Asian Cucumber Salad Recipe is a Keeper
I love this recipe because it’s a quick and easy side dish or light snack. This recipe is perfect for customizing and is made with super simple ingredients.
- Incredibly Refreshing: The crisp, cool cucumbers provide a delightful counterpoint to the spicy, tangy, and savory dressing. It’s perfect for hot days or as a palate cleanser alongside richer dishes.
- Bold and Flavorful: The dressing is a vibrant explosion of Asian-inspired flavors, typically featuring soy sauce, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, garlic, ginger, chili flakes (or fresh chili), and often a touch of sweetness. It’s a satisfying balance of salty, sour, umami, spicy, and sometimes sweet notes.
- Quick and Easy to Make: This salad comes together in minutes, requiring minimal cooking and mostly just chopping and mixing. It’s an ideal side dish for busy weeknights or a last-minute addition to a gathering.
- Versatile: It pairs well with a wide variety of Asian cuisines, from grilled meats and seafood to noodles and rice dishes. It can also be enjoyed on its own as a light snack or appetizer.
- Healthy: Cucumbers are low in calories and hydrating. The dressing, while flavorful, can be adjusted to be lighter by controlling the amount of oil and sugar.
- Textural Delight: The combination of crunchy cucumbers and the flavorful dressing creates a satisfying textural experience.
- Can Feed a Crowd: It can easily be scaled up to feed a large group, making it perfect for gatherings.
Why is my Cucumber Salad Watery?
To draw out some of the excess water from the cucumbers, lightly salt the sliced cucumbers and let the cucumbers sit for 10-15 minutes. Rinse cucumbers in a colander and pat them dry before storing. This can also help maintain their crispness.
Pro Tip for Spicy Cucumber Salad
Slice the Cucumbers Evenly: Uniformly sliced cucumbers ensure even flavor distribution and a consistent texture. Use a mandoline for quick and precise slicing (be careful with the blade!).
Ingredient Notes and Variation Suggestions for Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad
You will need just a few easy to find ingredients from the grocery store. This recipe is super easy to customize to fit your taste. I like to take Chinese cucumber salad to the next level by using different ingredients and trying different flavors.
Get the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions in the recipe card below.
- Cucumbers: Both English cucumbers and Persian cucumbers will work for this recipe. You could also try mini cucumbers.
- Sweetness: Adjust the sweetness of this simple side dish with honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, or sugar to your liking.
- Acidity: Use different types of vinegar like white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar, though rice vinegar provides a more authentic Asian flavor. Lime juice can also add a bright, citrusy note.
- Spice Level: Control the heat by adjusting the amount of chili pepper flakes, chili oil, fresh chili (Serrano, jalapeño, bird’s eye), or add a dash of sriracha, gochugaru or gochujang (Korean chili paste) for a deeper flavor.
- Umami: Enhance the umami with a splash of fish sauce (use sparingly as it’s potent), tamari (for gluten-free), or a tiny bit of mushroom soy sauce.
- Herbs: Fresh cilantro, mint, or Thai basil can add a refreshing herbaceousness.
- Toasted Nuts/Seeds: Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds, chopped peanuts, or cashews for added crunch and nutty flavor.
- Crispy Shallots: Top with store-bought or homemade crispy fried shallots or green onions for extra texture and flavor.
- Protein Add shredded cooked chicken, shrimp, or tofu.
Special Equipment Needed to Make Spicy Cucumber Recipe
Sometimes there’s a step in a recipe that can go much faster with the right piece of kitchen equipment.
- Mandolin: Carefully use a mandolin to thinly slice the cucumber if you’d prefer cucumber slices over diced.
How to Make the Best Asian Cucumber Salad
This Japanese cucumbers recipe comes together in just 2 quick and easy steps. It’s so refreshing, I like to make it for a summer snack.
Get the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions in the recipe card below.
- Make Peanut Butter Sauce: In a large bowl, add peanut butter, soy sauce, sriracha sauce and minced garlic. Stir well until combined.
- Add Diced Cucumber: Dice your cucumber and stir it into the peanut butter sauce. Garnish with sesame seeds.
Prep Ahead Suggestions for the Cucumber Side Dish
When I prepare ingredients ahead of time, it can help save me time and kitchen space when it comes to making everything for dinner.
- Slice the Cucumbers: You can slice the cucumbers a few hours in advance and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. However, be mindful that they might release some water over time, potentially diluting the dressing slightly.
- Make the Dressing: The dressing can be made up to 1-2 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. This allows the flavors to meld together beautifully. Just whisk it well before using.
- Chop Aromatics: Garlic, ginger, and chili can be minced or chopped ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a day.
- Assembly: It’s generally recommended to assemble the salad shortly before serving to maintain the best texture of the cucumbers. Toss the sliced cucumbers with the dressing just before you’re ready to eat.
How to Store, Reheat and Use Leftovers
- Storing: Store smashed cucumber salad in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Reheating: One of the nice things about this recipe is that it does not need to be heated. I always let mine sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.
- Using Leftovers: Enjoy leftover Korean spicy cucumber salad with other Korean food like Slow Cooker Beef Bulgogi Bowl.
Common Questions About This Chinese Spicy Cucumber Salad Recipe
No, but it can be. Regular soy sauce usually contains gluten, but feel free to swap for your favorite gluten-free options.
Yes, feel free to use milder ingredients in the simple dressing if you’d like a less spicy Korean cucumber salad.
If stored properly, the best cucumber salad will last for up to 4 days in the fridge.
Yes, you can replace the peanut butter with other nut butters.
Expert Tips for Making Asian Cucumber Marinade This Recipe
- Don’t Over-Dress: Start with a smaller amount of dressing and add more to taste. Over-dressing can make the salad soggy.
- Taste and Adjust: The key to a great salad is a well-balanced dressing. Taste it before adding it to the cucumbers and adjust the sweetness, sourness, saltiness, and spiciness to your preference.
- Massage the Cucumbers (Optional): For a slightly softer texture and better absorption of flavor, you can gently massage the sliced cucumbers with a little salt for a few minutes, then rinse and pat them dry before adding the dressing.
- Chill Before Serving: While delicious at room temperature, this salad is particularly refreshing when chilled for at least 15-20 minutes before serving.
- Garnish for Appeal: A sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds, chopped cilantro, or crispy shallots not only adds flavor and texture but also makes the salad visually appealing.
- Consider Different Cucumber Preparations: Instead of just slicing, you can smash the cucumbers lightly with the flat side of a knife before chopping them into bite-sized pieces. This creates more surface area for the dressing to cling to and results in a slightly different texture.
- Use Fresh, High-Quality Ingredients: The flavor of this simple salad relies heavily on the quality of its ingredients, especially the cucumbers and the aromatics in the dressing.
- Serve With: Serve with Korean Beef and Broccoli, Instant Pot Honey Asian Chicken or Korean Spicy Noodles.
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Asian Spicy Cucumber Salad
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Ingredients
- 1 large Cucumber
- 1 tablespoon Peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon Soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon Sriracha sauce
- 1 clove Garlic, minced
- Sesame seeds, garnish
Instructions
- Place peanut butter, soy sauce, hot sauce and minced garlic in a medium size bowl.
- Stir well until combined.
- Dice your cucumber and place in the bowl.
- Stir to coat the cucumbers in the peanut butter sauce.
- Garnish with sesame seeds.
Christina’s Notes
- Don’t Over-Dress: Start with a smaller amount of dressing and add more to taste. Over-dressing can make the salad soggy.
- Taste and Adjust: The key to a great salad is a well-balanced dressing. Taste it before adding it to the cucumbers and adjust the sweetness, sourness, saltiness, and spiciness to your preference.
- Massage the Cucumbers (Optional): For a slightly softer texture and better absorption of flavor, you can gently massage the sliced cucumbers with a little salt for a few minutes, then rinse and pat them dry before adding the dressing.
- Chill Before Serving: While delicious at room temperature, this salad is particularly refreshing when chilled for at least 15-20 minutes before serving.
- Garnish for Appeal: A sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds, chopped cilantro, or crispy shallots not only adds flavor and texture but also makes the salad visually appealing.
- Consider Different Cucumber Preparations: Instead of just slicing, you can smash the cucumbers lightly with the flat side of a knife before chopping them into bite-sized pieces. This creates more surface area for the dressing to cling to and results in a slightly different texture.
- Use Fresh, High-Quality Ingredients: The flavor of this simple salad relies heavily on the quality of its ingredients, especially the cucumbers and the aromatics in the dressing.
- Serve With: Serve with Korean Beef and Broccoli, Instant Pot Honey Asian Chicken or Korean Spicy Noodles.
- Scale the recipe: Simply adjust the serving size in the recipe card and the ingredients will update automatically.
- Make your own All Purpose Seasoning: When a recipe calls for All Purpose Seasoning, you can use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat doneness: I always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness when cooking meat.
- Use unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven: Unless otherwise noted, always preheat your oven before baking.
For more helpful information about this recipe, such as variations, substitutions and other pro-tips, check out the blog post.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided are estimates. It is recommended that you verify this information with your own trusted resource.
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This recipe is my personal adaption of an ethnic-inspired recipe. It is not intended to be an authentic recipe. I’ve recreated this recipe because I enjoy the flavors and I want to encourage my readers to expand their tastes and try new flavor combinations. The recipe, ingredients, and processes may have been adapted to make the recipe accessible to the average American. I have provided links to authentic versions of the recipe in the post above. I encourage you to visit these pages and learn more about the traditional version(s) of this recipe.