Asian Cucumber Salad

We had Asian cucumber salad last in Wen Cheng, a sensational Asian pulled-noodle restaurant in Berlin, and we had to recreate it once we were back in our kitchen.

Smacked cucumbers are tossed in a mouthwatering sweet and sour dressing and topped with tangy quick pickled red onions.

Admittedly, our recipe is less spicy than you’d find in Asia and suitable for most palates.

But you can boost the spiciness by adding more Sriracha or tossing in a tablespoon of gochujang, a spicy Korean condiment.

Serve Asian cucumber salad next to our creamy peanut noodles, sticky orange tofu, or easy tofu stir fry to make an easy and delicious Asian-inspired dinner.

Its combination of crunchy texture and sweet, sour, and spicy flavors will awaken your taste buds and satisfy you cravings for asian food.

Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

Cucumber

You can use any cucumber. We tested Kirby, English, American, Italian, and Persian cucumbers, and they were all delicious.

Japanese cucumbers and mini cucumbers are excellent, too, as they have thin skin.

Of course, it’s best if the cucumbers are firm and fresh so they’ll have a nice crunch and your Asian cucumber salad won’t be bitter.

Salt

Salt is essential in this recipe because we use it to drain water from the cucumbers.

You can use sea salt or kosher salt. Don’t worry about the amount of salt used, most of it will be removed when we drain the cucumbers.

Sesame seeds

Sesame seeds are used to garnish the salad, so they are optional.

They look lovely and add a nice crunch and a pleasant sesame flavor.

Pickled red onion

We’ll show you how to make 10-minute pickled red onions with red onions, lemon, salt, and red pepper flakes.

They add a wonderful bright purple color and a fresh, zesty, and tangy flavor that is perfect with the cucumbers.

Substitute thinly sliced green onions for the pickled red onions.

Dressing

• Rice vinegar: substitute apple cider vinegar, lime juice, or white wine vinegar for rice vinegar.
• Soy sauce: substitute tamari or coconut aminos for gluten-free.
• Sesame oil: if you don’t have sesame oil, you can leave it out. Substitute fish sauce for sesame oil to make your salad more Thai and less Japanese.
• Garlic: use grated fresh garlic or garlic paste. Garlic powder doesn’t add the same zesty and fresh flavor so that we would avoid it.
• Ginger: use fresh ginger, peeled and grated. You can substitute store-bought minced ginger for grated ginger.
• Maple syrup: substitute honey, agave syrup, palm sugar, brown sugar, and coconut sugar for maple syrup.
• Sriracha sauce: substitute gochujang, chili oil, or red pepper flakes for Sriracha sauce.

US cups + grams measurements in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

1. Start with the onions

Peel and thinly slice the red onions. Add them to a bowl with lemon juice, salt, and red pepper flakes.

Massage them with your fingertips to distribute the condiments, then set them aside for 15 minutes while you prepare the salad.

2. Smack the cucumbers

Rinse and dry the cucumbers, remove the tips (they can be bitter), put them flat on a cutting board, and smack them with a sturdy wooden spoon until they crack.

Smacking the cucumbers improves their textures so that the dressing sticks to them.

Cut the smacked cucumbers in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds, if any, with a teaspoon.

Slice cucumbers into bite-size chunks.

Tip: don’t smack the cucumbers with a knife; the blade might snap.

Transfer the cucumber pieces into a colander and toss them with salt.

Let them drain for 15 minutes.

Tip: The salt will drain out some of the cucumbers’ excess moisture, making them crunchier and less watery.

3. Make the dressing

Add rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, grated garlic, grated ginger, maple syrup, and sriracha sauce to a small bowl. Whisk and set aside.

4. Mix and serve

Shake the water off the cucumbers over your sink (avoid rinsing them with water), then transfer them into a bowl and toss them with the dressing.

Top with pickled red onions and garnish the Asian cucumber salad with sesame seeds.

Serving suggestions

We love this Asian cucumber salad next to other Asian dishes with rich and thick sauces, such as orange tofu, yaki udon, braised tofu, and sesame noodles.

Tofu

Orange Tofu

30-Min Meals

Yaki Udon

Tofu

Braised Tofu

30-Min Meals

Sesame Noodles

Variations

Thai cucumber salad

To make a Thai cucumber salad, change the dressing and garnishing.

For the dressing, substitute the ingredients as follows:

• Palm sugar for maple syrup
• Lime juice for rice vinegar
• Tamarind juice for sesame oil
• Fish sauce for soy sauce
• The other ingredients stay the same.

For the garnish, substitute toasted peanuts for sesame seeds and fresh coriander for pickled onions.

More cucumber salads

Some of our favorite cucumber salads are creamy cucumber salad, Greek cucumber salad, cucumber tomato salad, and Shirazi salad.

Salads

Creamy Cucumber Salad

Salads

Greek Cucumber Salad

Salads

Cucumber Tomato Salad

Salads

Shirazi Salad