asian style cucumber salad
This recipe is one of our family favorites! Refreshing spiral cut cucumbers marinated in soy sesame dressing creates a flavorful salad that makes a great side dish or light lunch on its own.
How to make Asian style cucumber salad?
Cut the cucumbers into spiral shape by placing a chopstick on each side of a cucumber piece then cut horizontal lines across, flip it around and cut diagonal lines on the other side. Repeat with the rest. Place the spiral cut cucumbers on a tray an lightly salt them all over and let rest for 20 minutes. Meanwhile make the sauce by whisking together soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, sesame seeds, brown sugar, chili powder, garlic cloves and Thai chili slices in a medium bowl. Wipe down the cucumbers, place them in the bowl with the sauce and toss to coat. Let the cucumbers marinade for 20 minutes, occasionally turning them in the sauce. Plate the cucumbers and garnish with freshly chopped cilantro!
Tips
Salting cucumbers before adding them into a salad is an important step to avoid a watered down dish! This process is called osmosis - the salt pulls water from inside the cucumber on surface level where it can be wiped off to avoid it gradually bleeding in the salad. By doing this the cucumbers will be slightly more crunchy and have more concentrated flavor thanks to the reduced water content!