Crunchy and a little spicy, this Asian cucumber salad in a tangy sesame-soy dressing is a perfect light side dish.
Nicky’s Notes
This is a lovely, light side I serve with many dinners — and yes, I often snack straight from the container. The secret to a crisp, flavorful salad is salting the cucumbers for about 10 minutes, then rinsing and patting them dry before adding the dressing.
Salting first helps by:
- Removing excess water so the salad isn’t watery
- Concentrating the cucumber’s flavour
- Keeping the cucumber crisp and crunchy
I’ve definitely bought more cucumbers since I started making this recipe 😋
Table of Contents
- Nicky’s Notes
- 📋 Ingredients for Asian Cucumber Salad
- 🧑🍳 Abbreviated Recipe
- Recipe Tips
- 🍽️ What to Serve It With
- Make Ahead and Leftovers Guide
- 📺 Watch How to Make It
- Asian Cucumber Salad Recipe
- 🍲 More Light and Bright Sides
📋 Ingredients for Asian Cucumber Salad
Full recipe with detailed quantities in the recipe card below.
Best type of cucumbers for this salad?
Baby cucumbers are visually appealing and work well, but English, Persian, Lebanese or Japanese cucumbers are all good choices.
🧑🍳 Abbreviated Recipe
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card below.
Sprinkle salt over thinly sliced cucumbers and let sit for 10 minutes. Rinse and pat dry, then combine with sugar, rice vinegar, light soy sauce, sesame oil, minced garlic, chilli flakes and sesame seeds. Toss and serve immediately.
Recipe Tips
- Salt the cucumbers for 10–20 minutes; avoid exceeding 30 minutes to prevent them going mushy.
- Rinse thoroughly after salting to remove excess salt — the soy sauce will add enough seasoning.
🍽️ What to serve it with
This salad brightens up crispy fried dishes, creamy curries, and rice bowls. Try it alongside dishes such as Vietnamese-style caramelized minced beef rice bowls, Chicken Panang curry, Cajun chicken with coriander-lime rice, honey garlic prawn rice bowls, Chinese plum chicken stir fry, or Beef Yakiniku.
Make ahead and Leftovers Guide
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Best within 24 hours; up to 48 hours if your cucumbers were very fresh and crisp.
📺 Watch how to make it
Asian Cucumber Salad
Nicky Corbishley
10 mins
10 mins
20 mins
4
side dish
Asian
Ingredients
- 200 g (7 oz) cucumber, thinly sliced (English, baby, Persian or Japanese work well)
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ tsp chilli flakes (red pepper flakes)
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Place the sliced cucumbers in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Toss and leave for 10–20 minutes to draw out excess water. Avoid going over 30 minutes to prevent mushiness.
- Rinse and drain the cucumbers, then transfer to a clean bowl and pat dry if needed.
- Add sugar, rice vinegar, light soy sauce, sesame oil, minced garlic, chilli flakes and sesame seeds. Stir to combine.
- Serve immediately — the dressing clings to the cucumber so no long marinating is necessary. You can marinate for an hour or two if preferred.
Notes
Storage:
Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Best eaten within 24 hours, up to 48 hours if cucumbers are exceptionally fresh and crunchy.
Nutritional information is per serving – this recipe serves 4.
Nutrition
Nutrition is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximation.
🍲 More light and bright sides
Sides
Tomato and Onion Salad
Sides
Simple Asian Slaw
Sides
Marinated Onions
Sides
Roasted Broccoli With Garlic
Sides
Roasted Radishes
Sides
Peach and Pineapple Salsa
Some links in this post may be affiliate links which help support the site at no extra cost to you. Nutrition information is approximate and can vary depending on ingredients and portion sizes.