This salad takes inspiration from cucumber salads which seem to be taking over the internet at the moment, and the sauce on gomae, one of my absolute favorite things to order whenever I go out for sushi. Crunchy cucumber slices make the perfect base for a deliciously creamy peanut dressing, I swear you could pour this dressing over a shoe and I would eat it. This is an incredibly easy 10 minute salad that is just as delicious as a side dish with chicken or beef as it is as a healthy snack. Make this Asian cucumber salad once and I guarantee you will crave it on repeat.
Absolutely delicious. Adding this to my rotation of recipes to make when hosting to impress guests with little effort!
Table of Contents
Why You Will Love This Asian Cucumber Salad
- This salad is creamy, crunchy, refreshing, salty and packed with umami flavour.
- This simple salad requires less than 10 ingredients to make, all of which are common pantry/fridge staples that you may already have.
- Ready in minutes. Just slice, whisk, and toss! It’s ideal for busy days.
- Flexible ingredients. Easily adjust sweetness, spice, or swap peanuts for another nut or seed.
- This salad is Paleo, Grain Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Vegan and can easily be made Whole30 and Keto too!
Key Ingredients For This Asian Cucumber Salad
- Cucumbers: mini cucumbers (also known as Persian cucumbers) work best in this recipe. I’ve included more information about them below.
- Soy Sauce: Feel free to swap with coconut aminos or tamari depending on your dietary restrictions.
- Peanut Butter: feel free to use peanut butter, almond butter or cashew butter in the sauce. Try to look for a nut butter that is not sweetened and contains just blended nuts (and sometimes salt).
- Sesame Oil: you can use regular or toasted sesame oil. I find that toasted has a much stronger nutty flavour.
- Apple Cider Vinegar (or rice wine vinegar): Adds a tang to the dressing and cuts through the creamy peanut butter.
- Gochujang: a korean chili paste that has a smoky spicy flavor. You can find it in most grocery stores.
- Honey(or maple syrup): A touch of honey added to the sauce adds a bit of sweetness and balances out the acidity of the vinegar.
- Peanuts: I recommend toasted for extra crunch. Feel free to swap for roasted cashews.
- Scallions
How To Make This Asian Cucumber Salad Recipe
- Using a sharp knife remove the ends of the cucumber and then cut into 1/2 inch thick slices. Thin slices can become soggy whereas thicker slices keep their crunch and absorb the dressing.
- Add all of the dressing ingredients and stir until smooth.
- Add the cucumber slices to a large mixing bowl along with the chopped nuts, green onions and dressing to the bowl and toss until well mixed. Serve with chopped sticks
Kitchen Tools You Need:
- Sharp Knife
- Cutting Board
- Small Bowl
- Large Bowl
- Measuring Cup
- Measuring Spoons
Dietary Customizations
- Nut Free: Use tahini in place of peanut butter and skip the chopped peanuts and garnish with sesame seeds instead.
- Paleo: Swap the peanut butter for almond or cashew butter and garnish with cashews inplace of peanuts. Be sure to use
- Vegan: Use Maple syrup in place of honey
- Gluten Free: Be sure to use tamari in place of soy sauce. If you are unable to find gochujang paste that is gluten free you can use gochujaru which is a korean chili powder.
How to Modify
- make it spicier by adding chili oil or chili flakes
- add minced garlic cloves or grated fresh ginger to the dressing for even more flavor.
- swap the peanut butter for almond butter or cashew butter
- the peanuts can be swapped for chopped cashews or almonds
Common Questions
I would rate the spiciness level of this salad a 3/10, but this can easily be increased or decreased depending on your fondness for spicy foods. I would recommend increasing the amount of gochujang used to make it spicier or alternatively garnish the salad with chili oil (like this homemade chili oil) or adding red pepper flakes.
The dressing for this Asian Cucumber Salad can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. The cucumbers are best cut right before adding to the salad, but if you have to cut them in advance or would prefer to prepare this salad a few hours ahead, I recommend generously seasoning them with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and leave them to rest in a sieve for 15 minutes, this will help to draw out some of the liquid from the cucumber and will help to prevent the salad from becoming watery as it sits.
Leftover Asian Cucumber Salad will last for 2 days in the fridge. Unfortunately the salad will become quite watery the longer it sits in the fridge so I recommend draining some of the excess liquid from the leftover salad before eating.
If you are unable to find persian cucumbers then you can use the more common larger sized cucumbers or english cucumbers in this Asian Cucumber Salad. I recommend cutting them into chunkier sized cubes, seasoning them with kosher salt and leaving them to rest in a sieve for 10 minutes to draw out any excess water.
This is the perfect side dish to serve with:
- Thai Watermelon Salad
- Spicy Thai Mango Salad
- Sweet and Spicy Gochujang Shrimp
- Korean Beef Tacos
- Gochujang Salmon
- Korean Cauliflower Bites
If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!
Asian Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 6 mini cucumbers
- 1/4 cup chopped peanuts or cashews
- 1/4 cup chopped scallions
Dressing
- 2 tbsp soy sauce (or coconut aminos/tamari)
- 2 tbsp peanut butter or almond butter
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (or rice wine vinegar)
- 1-2 tsp gochujang paste or 1 tsp korean chili powder
- 1 tsp honey or maple syrup or maple syrup
Instructions
- Wash the cucumber and cut them into 1/2 inch thick slices. Place the sliced cucumber in a bowl
- In a small bowl whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing. Whisk until smooth and taste.
- Pour the dressing over the cucumber and toss to ensure all of the slices are well coated. Garnish the salad with the chopped scallions and nuts. Serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a comment below and let us know how it was!
Enjoyed this salad with your Gochujang Salmon and they are perfect partners! Side Note: I LOVE the checkboxes next to the ingredients! I used them when placing my grocery order and when making the recipe. SO handy! Thank you for them!
Thanks for the feedback! I’m so happy the checkboxes were helpful!
This is so good! I can’t wait to make it again!
Any alternative to gochujing? I can’t do hit spice.
I make this at least once a week. We crave it! Worth it to find small Persian cucumbers if you can.
Absolutely delicious. Adding this to my rotation of recipes to make when hosting to impress guests with little effort!