Asian Cucumber Salad

• English cucumber: These are seedless and have a fresh crunch!
• Soy Sauce: The base for any great cucumber salad is to add salt and umami.
• Smoked Fish Sauce: A hint of smokiness as well as tang that complements the soy sauce so well.
• Sesame Chili Oil: Adds some heat and rich nuttiness thanks to the sesame.
• Pomegranate Concentrate: Gives depth of flavor and richness.
• Rice Wine Vinegar: Adds a sweet and tangy flavor to help bring out all of the other flavors.
• MSG (optional): Optional, but adds seasoning that helps all the other flavors pop!
• Garlic: A key flavor in Asian cucumber salad.
• Scallion: Light and fresh onion flavor in every bite.
• Toasted Sesame Seeds: Adds both crunch and nuttiness.

Equipment

• Mandoline for slicing cucumbers - This one has easy-to-use and clean attachments!
• Kim Chi Sprinkles - Can be found on Amazon
• Fish Sauce - This has been my favorite one!
• Soy Sauce - an affordable and delicious Japanese soy sauce
• Pomegranate Concentrate - Don't have an asian grocery store? Try Amazon!

How to make spicy Asian Cucumber salad

Step 1: Slice the cucumber with a mandoline slicer. You want these to be thin slices, but not too floppy and not see-through. Fill up a mason jar or glass container.

Step 2: Mince the garlic and slice the scallions thinly.

Step 3: In the cucumber-filled mason jar, pour in the liquid ingredients: soy sauce, fish sauce, chili oil, pomegranate concentrate, and rice wine vinegar. Then, add in MSG, garlic, and scallions.

Step 4: Toasting Sesame Seeds - On a heated skillet, cook sesame seeds on low heat. Toss seeds around every 45-60 seconds until they look golden brown.

Step 5: Place sesame seeds into the jar, close the lid, and shake the jar to incorporate ingredients. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Step 6: Enjoy as a side dish, or use as a topping for Poke Bowls, sushi, salads.... Whatever you desire!

Expert Tips

• Use a mandoline to cut all of the cucumbers the same size. This makes it so easy, just be careful and use the guard or mandoline glove to protect your fingers.
• Add more heat! You can easily make this cucumber salad spicier with more red chili flakes or a hot sauce, like sriracha.
• Use a mason jar or a bowl. I use a jar for ease of marinating and storing in the fridge, but a bowl works perfectly well, too.
• Stir in other mix-in ingredients. Add chopped nori seaweed or chopped onion for a twist.
• Be sure to let the sesame seeds cool before adding them to the salad. It's best to avoid adding them hot, or they could change the texture of the cucumber. You can also buy sesame seeds already toasted if you want to skip this step.

Storage

Keep your marinated cucumbers refrigerated when not using them. I don't suggest keeping them for more than 3 days. I also enjoy the crunch of the cucumber, and that crunch diminishes the longer they sit in the Asian marinade. Normally, they aren't lasting that long in this household anyway. They go fast!

What to serve with asian cucumber salad

I originally had these served as an appetizer. They were plated beautifully and cut much thicker. Our family enjoys snacking on them and eating them as a side dish. There's SO much more you can do with them, though.

When filming this recipe, we use them to top our tuna poke bowls for dinner. You could slice up red onions and tomatoes and make it a whole salad of its own, or use them on wraps and rice dishes.

More Easy salad recipes

• Strawberry Poppyseed Salad with Candied Pecans
• Sweet Potato Salad
• Grilled Watermelon Salad
• Tomato and Cucumber Salad

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