The perfect quick and easy side dish, this Asian Cucumber Salad is made by simply mixing thinly sliced cucumbers with a sesame based dressing. These marinated crispy cucumbers are a light and cool salad that goes with almost anything.
We love cucumbers, and they are much more versatile than you might realise. This Asian Cucumber Salad is a great way to use up a lot of cucumbers and it's a good way to use soy sauce too. We love serving it with noodles or grilled chicken, but it's great with other salad items too.
The key to this amazing Asian salad with cucumbers is the dressing, and it's so easy to make - you probably have most of the ingredients in your kitchen already.
If you are looking for some other cucumber recipes, why not try our Cucumber and Radish Salad, Sparkling Cucumber Water, Cucumber Dill Salad or Cucumber Tomato Salad?
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Why you will love it
- Delicious way to use cucumbers - If you are growing cucumbers this year, then this is a great way to use them up.
- Versatile - There is so much that you can serve this Asian salad with. We love them with gyoza.
- Easy to make - Just mix everything together and it's ready to eat.
- Can be made in advance - You can make this an hour in advance so it is in the fridge ready to serve.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Cucumber - We used an English cucumber and kept the skin on. You could use smaller Persian cucumbers though if you prefer.
- Shallots - These add a lovely sweetness to the Asian Cucumber Salad.
- Garlic and ginger - You could grate and crush this yourself, but we use a garlic and ginger paste in a jar as it's much easier.
- Chilli sauce - This is optional, but we like a kick of heat in our food. We used Sriracha, as it's the best.
- Soy sauce - This gives the amazing umami. We used light soy sauce.
- Sesame seeds - This adds a nice crunch to the finished salad.
- Sesame oil - This is what gives the delicious Asian flavour to the Chinese cucumber salad. You can find it with the other flavoured oils in the supermarket.
- Rice wine vinegar - You can swap this for apple cider vinegar if you prefer, but we like the flavour of rice wine vinegar.
- Honey - This is a preference thing, as not everyone likes the sweetness in the salad, but we do. You could use maple syrup if you wanted to keep it vegan.
- Salt - Generously season.
A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.
How to make Asian cucumber salad - Step by step
One: Slice the cucumber thinly.
Two: Add the sliced cucumber to a bowl.
Three: Add the other ingredients (except the sesame seeds) and mix well.
Four: Serve topped with sesame seeds.
Variations
This is a pretty simple salad, so there is not too much that can be changed. You could adapt the ingredient amounts, depending on how spicy or garlic and gingery you like it. Feel free to add more chilli sauce too.
Other ingredients that you can add to the Asian cucumber salad include:
- Shredded cabbage
- Grated carrots
- Edamame
- Sugarsnap Peas
Serving Suggestions
This is such a versatile side dish, that is goes with almost anything. Here are some of our favourite dishes to serve with this Asian cucumber salad:
- Honey Mustard Salmon
- Air Fryer Steak
- Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken
- Air Fryer Gyoza
- Crispy Chicken Goujons
- Baked Lamb Chops
- Lemon and Herb Chicken
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can make this a couple of hours in advance, but the cucumbers will release liquid as they sit in the fridge. This will result in the dressing being a lot thinner if left.
To make this extra crispy, you need lots of salt. Soak them in salt and then rinse them and you will have extra crispy cucumbers. You only need about 10 minutes though, any longer and the cucumber will start to break down.
There are 139 calories per serving.
Extra tips
• Score the cucumber with a fork before slicing - this will help the dressing cling to it better.
• For some extra crunch, add some crushed cashews or peanuts to the top of the salad.
• You could slice the cucumbers lengthways and then scoop the seeds out before slicing, but we like the seeds.
• If you want a bit of an extra fresh flavour, then you can add some fresh chopped coriander (cilantro).
• You can just mix everything together straight away like we have, but you could also add some salt to the cucumbers to draw some water out and then rinse them. These will give crispier cucumbers.
More salad recipes
If you’ve tried this Asian Cucumber Salad, then let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - Use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Asian Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 2 Cucumber - small; English
- 2 Shallots - diced
- 1 tablespoon Garlic and ginger paste
- 3 tablespoon Soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce
- 2 tablespoon Sesame oil
- 5 tablespoon Rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- 0.5 teaspoon Sea salt
Instructions
- Slice the cucumber thinly.
- Add the sliced cucumber to a bowl.
- Add the other ingredients (except the sesame seeds) and mix well.
- Serve topped with sesame seeds.
Notes
- Score the cucumber with a fork before slicing - this will help the dressing cling to it better.
- For some extra crunch, add some crushed cashews or peanuts to the top of the salad.
- You could slice the cucumbers lengthways and then scoop the seeds out before slicing, but we like the seeds.
- If you want a bit of an extra fresh flavour, then you can add some fresh chopped coriander (cilantro).
- You can just mix everything together straight away like we have, but you could also add some salt to the cucumbers to draw some water out and then rinse them. These will give crispier cucumbers.
dina and bruce miller
We are lightening up our Summer meals, and this was perfection! Yum!
Amanda
This salad was delicious. It was perfectly light and refreshing for summer, and I just loved the kick from the sriracha.
Mahy
So light and so easy to make. Love how bright the colors look, too!
Katherine
Such a great refreshing and flavorful salad!
Ieva
Lovely recipe! Couldn't believe that something as bland as cucumber can pack so much flavour with all the soy, sriracha and honey! A great side dish to stir-fries and South East Asian curries!
Amanda Wren-Grimwood
Can't beat a cucumber salad and this one is so delicious. Love all of the Asian flavours.
Kristine
I couldn't wait to try this salad. I love cucumbers and am always looking for exciting ways to spice them up. This was insanely good! I'll be making this again, and again! Thanks!
Kathleen
This is one flavor packed Asian cucumber salad. It is a perfect side dish.
Tayler
I made this salad with dinner last night and it was incredible. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Sara Welch
This was such a crisp and refreshing salad that was not only easy, but delicious to boot! Light yet hearty; loved every bite!
Kelley
This looks so refreshing! The perfect side dish. Thanks for sharing!