Asian Cucumber Salad

This is an extremely easy side dish you can make with cucumbers. There are a lot of variations so I'm giving you a basic recipe and a list of optional ingredients you can add for extra texture, spice, and flavor.

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Prep Time 15

Total Time 15

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Chinese

Servings people

Ingredients

Basic Recipe

2 large cucumbers
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 cloves garlic (minced)

For extra texture

1 tablespoon black sesame seeds (optional)
1 tablespoon chopped peanuts (optional)

For extra spice

1 tablespoon chili oil with crisps (optional)
1 teaspoon gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) (optional)

For extra flavor

1 tablespoon sliced scallions (optional)
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (optional)

Instructions

Loosely wrap the cucumber in plastic wrap and place on a sturdy cutting board. Use a rolling pin to smash the cucumber until the sides split open.
Remove the plastic wrap and chop the cucumber into 1-inch chunks. Transfer to a bowl.
In a small bowl, combine the rice vinegar, sugar, salt, and garlic. Add any of the optional ingredients for extra texture, spice, and flavor. Today, I'm adding peanuts, sesame seeds, chili crisps, gochugaru, and cilantro.
Right before serving, add the sauce to the cucumbers and mix well. You do not want to combine the cucumbers and sauce in advance as the cucumbers start to go soft as soon as the sauce gets added in.