This Japanese cucumber salad is a light and refreshing blend of thinly sliced cucumbers tossed in a homemade dressing and garnished with sesame seeds. A quick and easy side dish that pairs well with a wide variety of main course options!
I’m always looking for new and interesting salads to go along with our everyday meals. Some of my favorites include a healthy arugula salad, classic caprese salad, creamy waldorf salad, tangy mandarin orange salad and this simple, yet totally satisfying Sunomono salad.
Japanese cucumber salad is the perfect accompaniment to any Asian inspired meal. While this dish is often served alongside sushi, yakitori or a teriyaki chicken bowl, it’s also great with other Asian dishes including beef bulgogi, Asian meatballs and beef lo mein.
Table of Contents
Cucumber Salad Ingredients
The ingredients for this recipe are simple, and consist of cucumbers, sugar, salt, sesame seeds, rice vinegar and soy sauce.
How Do You Make Japanese Cucumber Salad?
Start by cutting your cucumbers into very thin slices. Toss the cucumber slices in salt. This is an important step as it will draw the excess moisture out of the cucumbers so they stay crunchy in the salad. Drain the cucumber slices in a colander, then use your hands to squeeze any extra liquid out of them. Make a dressing by mixing together rice vinegar, soy sauce and sugar. Pour the dressing over the cucumbers and toss to combine. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, then serve.
Tips For The Perfect Dish
- For a more authentic flavor, use Japanese cucumbers if you can find them. If you can’t get Japanese cucumbers, I recommend using Persian cucumbers which are available in many stores and have a similar flavor and consistency. English cucumbers will also work. You can make this with traditional waxy cucumbers, but you’ll want to peel them and remove the seeds.
- You can use a mandoline slicer to cut your cucumbers into very thin slices for the best taste and texture.
- While Sunomono goes well with any number of Japanese dishes, I also find it to be great when served alongside grilled chicken or seafood.
Quick Tip
You can use white sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, or a combination of the two. It’s really up to you!
Recipe FAQs
Sunomono is a Japanese term that refers to vinegared veggies such as this cucumber salad. The cucumbers are lightly pickled in a mixture of vinegar, sugar and soy sauce. This salad is typically served as a side dish to go along with a larger meal. It can also be served as an appetizer, because the tart flavor of the vinegar is thought to stimulate the appetite before a meal.
I only peel cucumbers that have a thick or waxy skin. Thin skinned cucumbers, such as Japanese, Persian or English cucumbers do not need to be peeled. In addition, the peel contains most of the nutrients so it’s healthier to leave the peel on!
This salad can be made up to 6 hours before you plan to serve it. Leftover salad will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
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Japanese Cucumber Salad Flavor Variations
This salad is great as-is, but you can add other ingredients to make the flavors your own. The additional ingredients are not traditional, but I find them to be delicious nonetheless.
- Vegetables: You can add other vegetables to this salad such as wakame seaweed, or thinly sliced red onion.
- Herbs: I love to add a sprinkling of sliced green onions on top of the cucumbers.
- Seafood: You can sometimes find this salad with seafood in it, such as shrimp, crab or even octopus!
I always keep cucumbers in the fridge, so when I need a salad, this is a go-to recipe for me. Looking for more fresh salad inspiration? Don’t miss my list of 45 summer salad recipes!
More Great Salad Recipes To Try
Chicken Salad with Grapes
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Fattoush Salad
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Kale Salad with Apples
21 mins
Olive Garden Salad Recipe
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Quinoa Salad with Veggies
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Love This Recipe?
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Japanese Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups cucumbers thinly sliced, I prefer to use Japanese or Persian cucumbers
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame seeds
Instructions
- Place the cucumbers in a large bowl. Add the salt and toss to combine. Let the cucumbers stand for 10 minutes.
- Place the rice vinegar, sugar and soy sauce in a small bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Transfer the cucumbers to a colander. Pour the excess liquid out of the bowl.
- Use your hands to squeeze any remaining liquid out of the cucumbers.
- Place the cucumbers back into the bowl. Add the rice vinegar mixture and toss to combine.
- Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, then serve, or refrigerate for later use.
Notes
- For a more authentic flavor, use Japanese cucumbers if you can find them. If you can’t get Japanese cucumbers, I recommend using Persian cucumbers which are available in many stores and have a similar flavor and consistency. You can also make this with traditional waxy cucumbers, but I recommend peeling them and removing the seeds.
- You can use a mandoline to easily cut your cucumbers into very thin slices.
- This salad can be made up to 6 hours before you plan to serve it. Leftovers will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
I love that these are simple to make and yet so flavorful! Thanks for sharing!
I just love cucumbers! And I love how simple and easy this salad is to make. 🙂
I love this Japanese cucumber salad and summer is the perfect time to make it over and over. Thank you for the tips!
The crisp and cool cucumbers combined with the rice vinegar and soya sauce dressing create a perfect harmony of flavors. It’s a simple yet elegant recipe that brings a burst of freshness to any meal. thank you for sharing that.
Really like this Japanese Cucumber Salad (Sunomono) recipe, will make it for the family. We love cucumber and is easy to make. Looks delicious and refreshing. Thanks for sharing 🙂
This is just like at my favorite Japanese restaurant! Soooo good.
Delicious! These are almost like eating pickles, except with the differing flavors of tangy soy sauce and nutty sesame seeds. Thanks for sharing!
This is my new favorite cucumber salad recipe. I love the flavors, and it’s so much healthier than creamy cucumber salad.
So simple and full of flavor! Love how easy and refreshing this is. Thanks for sharing another winner!
I could eat this every day! It’s so refreshing and it’s the perfect accompaniment to our favorite Asian-inspired mains!
This simple is so simple but so delicious. I love it!
The flavors in the dressing sound marvelous and I like the addition of sesame seeds at the end. This is a quick, light and refreshing side dish that is perfect for my family.
Cucumber is my favorite and healthy snack option. This recipe is definitely a unique way of enjoying some healthy salad.
I love cucumbers and I love this salad! It’s light and refreshing and soooo easy to make! YUM!
We love cucumbers and have a garden full. This is fresh and easy. Great recipe to use as a side for lots of our favorite meals.
Such a flavorful and light salad. Served with some leftover fried rice! Delicious.
Such a wonderful use of cucumbers! Those flavors sound absolutely fantastic and I love the sprinkling of sesame seeds over the top.
Simple and easy… what a great salad it is! Definitely making it this summer or even earlier.
Love it! It may sound slightly unconventional but we had this salad with our homemade smoked salmon pizza and absolutely loved it!!! Loved the combination of fresh, sharp and sweet!
Yummm! So much flavor and SO easy to make! Thanks for sharing this … it’s gonna be hard to not eat it right out of the serving bowl with fork LOL