Sesame Cucumber Salad Recipe

Easy, delicious, crunchy and mildly spicy, this refreshing Sesame Cucumber Salad is made with simple ingredients and makes the perfect no-cook side dish to all your summer meals.

A variety of cucumber salads are always on rotation year-round for us. Most are dressed with nothing more than oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. This spicy sesame cucumber salad is one of my favourite cucumber salads for summer. Simple but far from basic, once you try it, you’ll understand why.

Crunchy cucumbers are tossed with a salty-sweet-tangy-spicy, assertively delicious, sesame-y dressing. Finished with a shower of sesame seeds and scallions, this cucumber salad is exactly the kind of crisp, cool, perfectly spicy thing that you crave to go with all your outdoor summer meals.

You can enjoy the dish as a pre-dinner snack, or as a salad with dinner. I’ve also been known to toss it with noodles, turning it into a light and refreshingly delicious meal. When cucumbers start arriving in droves at the market, or in your backyard, this is the salad you should make. You’re going to love it,  particularly during the warm summer months.

About This Sesame Cucumber Salad Recipe

This recipe is just slightly adapted from Hetty McKinnon via the NYT’s. I have always loved her recipes which have a decidedly Asian influence and this one is just as reliably delicious.

The original recipe includes avocados, which I exclude here because the cucumber salad will keep for much longer without them. If you know you will be serving and eating the entire salad immediately, then go ahead and add 1 avocado, sliced into 1-inch bites. But let me assure you, even without the avocado, this cucumber salad is just as intoxicatingly delicious, if not more.

After researching other Asaian-style cucumber salad recipes, I realized omitting the avocados from this salad makes it very similar to a Korean cucumber salad. The Korean word for spicy cucumber salad is “oi muchim” (오이무침). Oi means cucumber, and muchim means mixed with seasonings.

In this recipe we use red pepper flakes to add a little heat to the salad but in most Korean cucumber salad recipes they use gochugaru (Korean red chile flakes). You can find these pepper flakes at any Asian market.

How To Get The Crunchiest Cucumbers

Once sliced, cucumbers tend to release water pretty quickly. This will dilute the dressing and make the cucumbers lose their crunch pretty quickly. The best way to prevent this is by salting and draining the cucumbers.

You simply toss the cucumbers with salt in a colander and let them sit for 15 to 20 minutes. The salt will draw out their excess moisture and the cucumbers will stay crunchy much longer. No need to rinse the cucumbers as the salt will also help season them.

To be clear, this salting method will not draw out all of the water from the cucumbers. But it will make a big difference in how much longer the cucumbers will stay crunchy, as well as how much less diluted the flavours will be even after hours of sitting.

If I’m in a hurry I will skip this step but if you are planning on saving leftovers, or taking the salad to a potluck, it’s really worth it.

Ingredient Notes

Aside from buying fresh cucumbers and scallions, you likely have the rest of the ingredients in your pantry. If not, a quick trip to any well-stocked grocery store will have all the ingredients you need to make this cooling sesame cucumber salad.

• Cucumbers – For best results, I like to use Persian cucumbers for this salad. Those are the mini cucumbers that are typically sold in packages at the supermarket. Persian cucumbers have less seeds and thin skin so you don’t need to peel them. Don’t confuse them with the small pickling cucumbers sold at the Farmer’s markets. You can use those, but they aren’t ideal as they contain more seeds and higher water content. English cucumbers are okay to use, but I would peel them because their skin is a bit thicker. If you can find Japanese cucumbers, those too would be ideal here.
• Rice vinegar – I highly recommend you use unseasoned rice vinegar. “Seasoned” rice vinegar has other ingredients added (like sugar) and will make the dressing taste very different. Likewise, if at all possible, try not use a different vinegar. Rice vinegar has a more mild flavour with the perfect acidity for this dish. In a pinch, you can use a little less of apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, or rice wine vinegar. 
• Low-sodium soy sauce – Use tamari if you need it to be gluten-free.
• Toasted sesame oil – The intense nuttiness of toasted sesame oil adds incredible flavour to the dressing. A little goes a long way so you will only need about 2 tablespoons.
• Garlic – There is no garlic in the original recipe but I find it gives the cucumber salad a wonderful punchy flavour.
• Sweetener – I don’t like the salad to taste sweet at all but just a little sugar, honey, or maple syrup, helps balance all the flavours. You can use 1 tablespoon of your choice
• Kosher salt – For salting the cucumbers
• Green onion (Scallions) – A few tablespoons of chopped scallions are delicious in this salad. You could also use shallots or red onions.
• Sesame seeds – For a little extra crunch and flavour. Used both regular sesame seeds and black sesame seeds but use whichever you have on hand.
• Red pepper flakes – You can start with just 1/2 teaspoon which will make the cucumber salad just mildly spicy. If you are very sensitive to heat, add just 1/4 teaspoon. If you like spicy food, use a whole teaspoon or more to taste.

Variations

• Add fish sauce. If you love umami, salty flavours, add a teaspoon or two of fish sauce.
• Add ginger. A bit of freshly grated ginger would be fabulous in this cucumber salad.
• Use a chili paste or chili oil. Instead of the red pepper flakes, you can add a teaspoon or two of sambal oelek or any other chili paste you like. Do note, however, that the salad will be quite a bit spicier.
• Add some lime juice. Make it a bit citrusy and add a few squirts of lime juice. 
• Add peanuts. Chopped peanuts would be great with this cucumber salad. Add them just before serving so they stay nice and crunchy.

How To Make Sesame Cucumber Salad

Like most cucumber salads, this one comes together really fast. You do however, have to plan a little ahead to give the cucumbers time to release their liquid.

Here is the simple step-by-step:

Slice the cucumbers about 1/4-inch thick and place them in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and toss to evenly coat. Transfer the salted cucumbers to a colander or sieve over a mixing bowl to catch the water (do not wash the bowl where you salted the cucumbers). Set aside for at least 20 minutes (30-45 minutes is best) to allow the cucumbers to release excess water.

Meanwhile, in the same bowl you salted the cucumbers, mix the vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, honey (or sweetener of choice)), green onions and red pepper flakes until combined.

Once cucumbers have finished draining, place them in the bowl with the dressing. Toss gently until all the cucumbers are thoroughly coated.

Garnish with a few more chopped scallions and another sprinkle of sesame seeds, if desired. Serve immediately or cover and chill until ready to serve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Serving Suggestions

If you’re looking for cucumber snack recipes, this would be fabulous to munch on as a mid-afternoon snack or a pre-dinner appetizer.

This cooling sesame cucumber salad makes a great side  to most Asian-style dishes such as this chicken satay or this delicious grilled lemongrass chicken. But I find it also goes well with just about any meal. Pair it with grilled or roasted meat, baked or grilled fish, or serve it alongside noodle bowls or rice.

How To Store Leftovers

The sesame cucumber salad is best eaten the day you make it. If you salted and drained the cucumbers, it will still be quite delicious days later.

Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. If the dressing got a bit watered down, simply mix together a small amount of the dressing ingredients and add it to the cucumbers.

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If you give this Sesame Cucumber Salad recipe a try, please feel free to leave a comment and/or a star rating below. We appreciate and welcome all your feedback. Thank you!