This recipe for Asian cucumber salad is sliced cucumbers and colorful veggies tossed in a zesty sesame dressing. The perfect quick and easy side dish!
Marinated cucumber salad is a cool and refreshing complement to almost any meal. This Asian style cucumber salad utilizes soy sauce and sesame oil to bring lots of flavor without a lot of work.
Who doesn’t love cucumbers? They’re mildly flavored, super refreshing and are amazing in so many different dishes. This Asian cucumber salad is one of my family’s favorite sides, you can serve it alongside grilled chicken or fish and it makes the perfect picnic or potluck offering.
How to make Asian cucumber salad
The first step for this salad is to select your cucumbers. Typically there are three different types of cucumbers at the grocery store. You’ve got standard cucumbers, the long plastic wrapped English cucumbers, as well as those cute little Persian cucumbers.
You can use any of the three types of cucumbers here. I’ve used traditional cucumbers with the seeds removed. If you use English or Persian cucumbers you don’t need to remove the seeds as they tend to be smaller and softer than a traditional cucumber.
I run a vegetable peeler around each cucumber to make a striped pattern, which looks pretty and removes some of the waxy skin. The cucumbers are combined with red bell pepper and thinly sliced red onion to form the base of the salad.
The dressing is a simple combination of soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey and sesame oil and takes just minutes to put together. Add some herbs and sesame seeds, then toss and enjoy!
This Asian cucumber salad can be made a few hours in advance, but just be aware that the cucumbers will release liquid as they sit in the fridge, so your dressing might be a little thinner in consistency when it comes time to serve your salad.
This recipe is easily customizable, you can add other veggies like edamame, shredded carrots or snap peas, and change up the dressing by adding ginger, sriracha or hoisin sauce. So many possibilities!
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Asian Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 3 cups cucumbers peeled, seeded and sliced
- 1/4 cup red onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper chopped
For the dressing:
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro or sliced green onion
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the cucumbers, red onion and red bell pepper in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, honey, cilantro and sesame seeds. Taste and add salt and pepper if desired.
- Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours.
Nutrition
This post is sponsored by P.F. Chang’s Home Menu as part of the Mom It Forward Blogger Network. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Dinner at the Zoo possible. This post was originally published on January 11, 2017 and was updated on March 19, 2018 with new content.
Carol Cassara says
March 21, 2018 at 2:37 amIt looks good! I love eating salads during the warmer days of the year and this recipe is perfect for Spring and Summer. Time to make use of all the fresh produce that we can get in the market. The flavors are lovely as well!
Amanda says
March 20, 2018 at 7:01 pmCucumber salad is my absolute FAVORITE side dish, but I have never tried it with an Asian flare. I can’t wait to test out your recipe this summer.
Jenn @ EngineerMommy says
March 20, 2018 at 3:33 pmThis cucumber salad sounds delicious.I love that you added some Asian flavors in here. This would be great with some grilled meats.
Heather @ Kraus House Mom says
March 20, 2018 at 2:34 pmThis looks so good. I love cucumbers, as do my kids. I will be making this salad soon.
Kelly Reci says
March 20, 2018 at 2:23 pmCucumbers are actually a veggie staple in our family’s grocery list – we seem to always buy it! Safe to say this salad would go over really well with everyone in our household!
Tasheena @simplytasheena.com says
March 20, 2018 at 2:22 pmThis salad looks so refreshing and perfect for spring. I wish I had everything on hand to make it right now. Can’t wait to give it a try!
Jeanette says
March 20, 2018 at 9:42 amMy husband said that his mom would like something like this when he was a kid. He always loved it. I should make it for me again and just surprise him.
Angelic Sinova says
March 20, 2018 at 7:08 amIt’s so funny because even though I’m a huge veggie lover, I’ve never been a fan of cucumbers. But recently I’ve found myself loving cucumber salads! This Asian cucumber salad looks super yummy.
Heather says
March 20, 2018 at 5:55 amI love a cuke salad and this one looks fabulous. I can’t wait to make this with barbecue!
Alli Smith says
March 20, 2018 at 5:46 amI’m crazy about cucumbers, especially when they are fresh out of the garden. Your salad is so fresh and colorful and the dressing sounds amazing.
Amber Myers says
March 20, 2018 at 5:19 amI do love cucumber salad. I think I’ll really enjoy the Asian twist. I’ll have to prepare this soon. Maybe this weekend!
candy says
March 20, 2018 at 4:26 amLooks like a good salad to start a meal off with. We usually just slice our cucumbers and leave the seeds in so your picture was interesting to me. The dressing sounds delicious and fresh.
robin rue says
March 20, 2018 at 2:35 amThat sounds like a light, refreshing salad. I love salads for lunch on the weekends, so I am looking forward to making this.
Tonya Colvin says
October 17, 2017 at 3:16 pmOMG, I just tried this and it is soooo good! I added a little chili paste to mine just for a little added kick but this is wonderful. It tastes bright and refreshing and it looks beautiful to serve.
Shirlee says
April 26, 2017 at 9:24 amMy new go to salad, minus the cilantro. Did you know over seventyfive percent of White people taste Cilantro a Soap? I always thought it was just me until A DNA web page gave that information!
Greg says
January 12, 2017 at 10:58 amThat salad would be perfect with a P.F. Chang’s dinner. I like that P.F. Chang’s has family size options.
Karly says
January 12, 2017 at 8:32 amOh my gosh, LOVE this! It will be so nice to have something light and fresh to go with orange chicken or beef and broccoli dinners. Great recipe!
Sam says
January 11, 2017 at 9:13 pmWe eat a lot of Asian food. I like the idea of keeping some in the freezer.
Beatrice says
January 11, 2017 at 6:14 pmWe are PF Chang fans so this looks like a quick meal to keep on hand. We don’t always have time to eat out so this is a great option!
Debbie says
January 11, 2017 at 4:44 pmMy family would love these yummy dishes!