Posted by Kalin Denny On 12 July 2021
This easy spicy cucumber salad has Asian flavors, and this spicy and sour cucumber salad is a refreshing side dish! I love the toasted sesame seed salad!
Spicy bean salad to try later!
I love cucumbers and Asian flavors, so it’s no surprise this one spicy cucumber salad It would be something I enjoy and want to do over and over again. The combination of cold cucumber and hot sauce ingredients gives this so much delicious flavor!
This recipe is perfect for making European cucumbers that are never bitter, and the recipe calls for pickling the cucumbers and letting them sit for 30 minutes to get the water out before combining them with the hot sauce. I’ve done this a few times skipping that step, so feel free to do it if it seems too difficult for you. But if you like spicy Asian flavors, you should try this recipe! This is an obvious iterator for me.
This was one of the first cucumber salads I posted on my blog, so I’m not sure why it took me so long to update the pictures! But I do want to mention that over the years I’ve found myself adjusting the dressing ingredients so the salad has more sweet, sour, and spicy flavors than sweetener, rice vinegar and hot garlic sauce, and less soy and sesame flavors than soy sauce and sesame oil. This updated recipe has the proportions of those ingredients that I now prefer. When you make it, I encourage you to get all of the marinade ingredients out on the counter, prepare the sauce, and then taste to see if you’d like to add more of any of the flavors!
What ingredients do you need for this salad?
Do you really need to salt cucumbers?
The step of salting cucumbers for 30 minutes, pulls some of the water in the cucumbers. If you are going to eat the salad right away, I definitely think you can skip this step. If the salad is going to sit in the fridge or you have leftovers, the soy sauce in the dressing will draw some of the water out, making the salad a little more moist. I find that the European cucumbers I recommend don’t release as much water as some cucumbers, and I made the salad a few times with those and skipped the salting step.
What other types of cucumbers can you use?
exist Various types of cucumberMost of them will work with this power. Of course, any cucumber salad is always great with fresh garden cucumber, and I’ll always use it if I have it. But if you’re buying cucumbers from the store, I prefer the long European cucumber (which comes wrapped in plastic) or the small Persian cucumber (sometimes called small cucumber) for this salad. The garden option will contain a bit more water than the other two options, so they will benefit the most from the salting step if you choose to do so.
What ingredients give this salad its Asian flavors?
This cucumber salad has the Asian flavors of soy sauce, spicy garlic sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and sesame seeds.
More salad ideas for people who love cucumbers:
If you are someone who loves cucumbers like me, check out my collection Low-carb cucumber salads to keep you cool! There are over 25 different delicious cucumber salad ideas to make the whole summer long.
Tips for making this spicy cucumber salad:
(Scroll down for the full recipe with nutritional information.)
- Peeling the cucumber is optional (unless you’re using a regular store-bought cucumber that has waxy skin.)
- I like the look of the stripes, so I peel the cucumber and cut it in half lengthwise, then cut it into slices. If your cucumber has large seeds, I will scrape them off with a spoon after slicing the cucumber in half.
- Stir in the cucumber with 1 ton of salt (kosher salt is preferred) and let it drain for 30 minutes. This is less important with European cucumber or Persian cucumber, but it makes the salad less liquid. (I’ve made this salad a few times by skipping this step, so pick it up!
- While the cucumbers are sitting to release the water, whisk the marinade ingredients together. Then taste to see if you’d like to tweak the flavors a bit, adding whatever ingredient you want more of it.
- After 30 minutes, wipe the cucumbers dry, which also removes most of the salt.
- Then toss cucumbers with sauce, sprinkle with toasted sesame. Tasty!
Favorite Low-Carb Salads With Cucumber:
The famous Hungarian cucumber salad
Spicy Greek salad with pepperoncini
Cucumber and radish salad with feta dressing
Cucumber and radish salad
Cucumber and avocado salad with lemon, mint and feta
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 2 European cucumbers (see notes)
- 1 ton salt, for salting the cucumber to remove the water (optional)
- 2 tsp. Roasted sesame seeds
Sauce Ingredients:
- 2 tsp. soy sauce (see notes)
- 2 tons of rice vinegar (see notes)
- 2 T chili garlic sauce (see notes)
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 2 tons of sweetener Golden Monkfruit (see notes)
- 1 ton Asian sesame oil
instructions
- Peel the peel slices from the cucumber and cut in half lengthwise.
- Scrape the seeds off with a sharp spoon (if the cucumber has large seeds), then cut the cucumber into slices.
- Put the cucumber and salt in a colander and let it dry for at least 30 minutes (I’ve done this several times by skipping this step, but it will make the salad less liquid. It’s your choice whether or not to do this).
- While filtering the cucumbers, whisk together the soy sauce or soy sauce Gluten Free Soy Sauceunseasoned rice vinegar, chili garlic sauceMinced garlic, sweetener or sweetener, golden monkfruit of your choice, and sesame oil.
- Leave the seasoning ingredients hanging at room temperature until the flavors blend. (I recommend tasting the sauce to see if you want to adjust by adding more of any of the ingredients.)
- After 30 minutes, or when the desired amount of water has been released, wipe the cucumbers with paper towels and place them in a plastic container. (The goal is to remove the water as well as most of the salt.)
- Stir in the sauce, stirring enough to cover the cucumbers with the sauce.
- Roast the sesame seeds for 30 seconds in a dry skillet over high heat, then sprinkle them over the salad. (I buy pre-roasted sesame seeds from an Asian grocer, but I still roast them for a few seconds to release the sesame flavor.)
- Serve immediately and wait for compliments!
Notes
If you don’t have a long European cucumber, I use three medium or 6-8 small Persian cucumbers which would also be great. I would use Monk Fruit Gold Sweetener (referral link) to this authority, but use any local of your choice. used chili garlic sauce (Continued link) But any Asian type of hot chili will work. Uses Gluten Free Soy Sauce (Referral link) for this recipe if needed. Don’t use seasoned rice vinegar that contains sugar if you want a low-carb salad.
Recipe slightly adapted from best vegetable recipes (Referral link).
Nutrition information:
fruit:
6
serving size:
1
Amount per service: Calories: 48Total fat: 3 gramsSaturated fat: 0 gramsUnsaturated fats: 0 gramsUnsaturated fats: 2 gramsCholesterol: 0 mgsodium: 1357 mgCarbohydrates: 5 gramsthe basic: 1 gramsugar: 2 gramsprotein: 1 gram
Nutrition information is calculated automatically by the Recipe Plug-In I’m using. I am not a dietitian and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, as many variables affect these calculations.
Low Carb Diet / Low Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Spicy Cucumber Salad is a great dish for low carb diet plans including Keto, and this salad is great for any stage of the original South Beach Diet.
Find more recipes like these:
Uses salad recipes To find more recipes like these. use the Diet type indicator To find more recipes suitable for a particular eating plan. You may also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest To see all the good recipes I share there.
Historical notes for this recipe:
This favorite cucumber salad was first published in 2007! Updated in 2021 with significantly improved visuals, as well as a slight change to the dressing ingredients to make a salad with sweet, sour, and spicy flavors and less soy and sesame flavors. Adjust the bandage to your own taste and enjoy!
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