A fresh and spicy Asian Cucumber Salad features crisp cucumbers, zesty ginger, and scallions coated in spicy homemade chili dressing! An easy 5 min recipe.
Why We Love This Recipe
- Easy Recipe: Simply slice cucumbers and toss with salt, then mix up a dressing and drizzle it over this Asian Cucumber Salad!
- Bold, refreshing flavor: The sweet heat of this side dish goes so well with fresh, cooling cucumbers for the best flavor!
- Crowd-Pleasing: This delicious salad is such a hit at picnics, barbecues, dinners and more, along with Asian salad, ramen noodle salad, and Asian garlic shrimp.
Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad
One of my favorite things to do to save a boring meal time? Add a ridiculously good salad! This Asian cucumber salad packs a delicious punch of bold, spicy Asian flavors including chili oil, soy sauce, garlic, and rice vinegar. The best part? It come together in minutes like spicy honey teriyaki salmon, looks gorgeous, and tastes hella good!
Asian Cucumber Salad Ingredients
- Cucumbers
- Garlic – mince fresh garlic for the best flavor in easy Asian cucumber salad or use store-bought minced garlic for a time-saver.
- Rice vinegar
- Chili oil – Since being a kid, I’ve eaten Lao Gan Ma chili oil, so this is the go-to brand I recommend.
- Soy sauce – I like using low sodium soy sauce, but you can use the usual if you’d like it saltier.
- Sugar – just plain ol’ granulated cane sugar works great here.
- Sambal Oelek – similar to the chili oil, this is the best, boldest flavor chili sauce I grew up with and love.
- Salt
- Toasted sesame oil – be sure to use toasted for a strong aroma and flavor. Regular sesame oil is used at a higher quantity and is blander.
- Sesame seeds
How to Make Asian Cucumber Salad
How do you make cucumber salad Asian, anywho? Use delicious ingredients from Asian cuisine, such as sambal oelek and toasted sesame oil.
- Prepare the cucumbers: Wash cucumbers and slice off ends. Slice into thin coins. Add to a bowl, sprinkle with salt, and toss. Allow to sit and absorb moisture.
- Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together salad dressing ingredients: garlic, rice vinegar, chili oil, soy sauce, sugar, sambal oelek, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Whisk well.
- Assemble the Cucumber Salad: Add cucumbers to salad bowl. Drizzle with salad dressing. Top with ginger and scallions, folding until everything is well coated. Enjoy!
More salad recipes for you: chickpea salad, 7 layer salad, Italian pasta salad
Tips for Making Asian Cucumber Salad Spicy & Crunchy
- For spice: Follow my salad dressing recipe as-is. It’s plenty spicy! If you need more, increase the sambal oelek in 1 teaspoon increments as desired. For a sweeter salad, try my Christmas Salad.
- For crunchy cucumbers: Don’t skip the tossing in salt step—this allows the salt to absorb the moisture from the cucumbers and protect them from sogginess. Also, serve the salad as soon as you make it for maximum crunch.
For more delicious recipe ideas like simple Asian cucumber salad, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. If you’ve tried this recipe, take a pic and tag us on Instagram using #beamingbaker. We can’t wait to see it! Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤️
Tasty Asian Recipes
Asian Cucumber Salad Dressing
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Prepare the cucumbers: Wash cucumbers and slice off ends. Pat dry if overly moist. Slice into thin, diagonally-cut coins. Add to a bowl, sprinkle with salt, and toss. Allow to sit and absorb moisture.
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Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together Dressing ingredients: garlic, rice vinegar, chili oil, soy sauce, sugar, sambal oelek, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Whisk vigorously until well mixed.
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Assemble the Cucumber Salad: Add cucumbers to salad bowl. Drizzle as much as or as little salad dressing as you’d like. Top with ginger and scallions, folding until add-ins and dressing are well mixed and coated. Enjoy!
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