5-Minute Asian Cucumber Salad

Crunchy and flavourful! This 5-Minute Asian Cucumber Salad is an easy and quick side dish or appetizer to excite your tastebuds. The best part? It comes together in no time and does with just a few ingredients.

5-Minute Asian Cucumber Salad

You may think that cucumbers are boring to eat. But I want to change your mind on that one. With a spicy and flavourful Asian salad dressing, it is a whole different story. This cucumber salad Asian-style comes with a ton of flavour and is a nourishing side dish or starter to prepare for the main meal ahead.

Cucumbers don’t have a strong taste when eaten alone because they are 95% water. Not only are they a good hydrator they are also perfect served with a spicy and flavourful Asian salad dressing. And if you love the cuisine as much as I do and cook with Asian spices regularly, you probably have all the ingredients at home to make this delicious recipe for cucumber salad.

Ingredients for this Asian Cucumber Salad

When you need a quick and easy salad recipe, this Asian Cucumber salad recipe is it. And the flavourful secret lies in the dressing. You only need five simple ingredients to mix it up. 

I used mini cucumbers, also labelled as Japanese or Persian cucumbers. They contain less water than regular cucumbers, which waters down the dressing.

For the salad dressing you need:

• garlic clove
• rice wine vinegar
• sesame oil
• reduced-sodium soy sauce
• toasted sesame seeds
• red pepper flakes

When mixed with the sliced cucumbers, this Asian dressing creates a delicious and no-fuss salad ready to be devoured. Because there is nothing better than whipping up a flavourful dish in no time.

Tips for making this recipe

• Use organic cucumbers if you don’t peel them. Non-organic vegetables and fruits are sprayed with pesticides and additives which don’t wash off at home. I highly recommend using organic produce because the skin contains nutrients too.
• Mix all the ingredients for the dressing first before combining it with the salad.
• Let the cucumber salad sit for a couple of minutes after mixing it with the dressing. The dressing can infuse into the cucumber and create a more intense flavour.

 

What to serve with this Asian cucumber salad

You can serve this easy cucumber salad as a quick appetizer or side dish for all kinds of main dishes. Serve with grilled, baked or roasted meat, fish, seafood, and plant-based protein like tofu.

Here are some Encore & More recipes to serve with this cucumber salad:

Crispy Baked Sesame Chicken Tenders

Coconut Curry Poached Chicken

How long does this cucumber salad keep?

The salad is best eaten fresh because then the cucumbers are still crunchy. If storing it, keep the sliced cucumbers and dressing separately and mix them before you eat. This way, the cucumbers don’t get soggy and lose their crunch. The salad dressing can be stored in the fridge for a day or two after making.

Nutritional values are estimates only calculated with the recipe calorie and nutrition calculator provided by verywellfit.com. The author of this website is not a nutritionist nor a doctor. All nutritional data provided in the recipes and correspondent blog posts are for informational purposes only. Do not use the information as nutritional or medical advice.