This amazing pickled cucumber salad packs a punch and spice into cool cucumbers. Smashed or sliced you are going to love it!
Asian Pickled Cucumber Salad
Near east meets far east in my pickled cucumber salad here. The spices in this flavor-packed salad will make you travel from Turkey to Japan. Well, literally on your plate!
I was actually interested in making a salad made with wasabi that I had at our Japanese friend's home. The flavor of wasabi paired so well with cucumbers. From that point I tried adding other ingredients and created this crisp and delicious salad.
So this salad has the wasabi and soy sauce from the far east; Aleppo pepper and black seed that is often used in near east cuisines. It also has the toasted sesame oil, sesame seeds, cilantro, green onions that is commonly used in most of Asia.
Then plenty of white vinegar gives it a tangy pickled taste along with the oil, spices and seasonings. This is a salad as versatile as its main ingredient - cucumber. You will see below in the blog post, the main different ways to use and enjoy the salad.
Recipe Ingredients
- Cucumbers: Ideally I would use Persian cucumbers as they have a thin skin and easy to smash or slice. English cucumbers are the next best option and peel them in zebra stripes if the skin is too thick.
- Herbs: We need fresh cilantro and green onions. Substitute for green onions would be chives, shallots or red onions.
- Wasabi: Real wasabi obtained from the rhizome is very expensive and rarely available. What is often assumed to be wasabi is either imitation or a combination with horse radish. You can find this as a paste or a powder. I prefer the latter as it does not have additives and is easy to store. Sometimes I use grated ginger instead of wasabi. It has a pungent taste too but with a very different flavor. Grated garlic is yet another option.
- Sesame Oil: I prefer to use toasted sesame oil for its intense flavor.
- White Vinegar: Asian recipes often use rice vinegar, but any white vinegar that is not intensely flavored will work.
- Soy Sauce: Just a little bit of this will add some umami flavor.
- Red Pepper Flakes: I use mostly Aleppo pepper for this salad as it gives off a rich red color to the oil, along with its peppery taste, but without making the dish too hot. You can spike the heat a bit with some regular red pepper flakes as per your taste.
- Black Seeds: These add a strong aroma and piquancy to pickled foods in many Asian cuisines. Here we use it for the same reasons. You only need a small amount. Scale it up as per your preference. And if it is new to you, test it before using.
- Sesame Seeds: For added sesame flavor and texture.
- Sugar, Salt: To season and balance the flavors.
Smashed or sliced, this pickled salad with spices is a great way to enjoy cucumbers.
How to Make It
Brief overview of the pickled cucumber salad below. *Full recipe at the end of blog post.
- Prepare Cucumbers: Slice or Smash: Using a mandolin slicer slice it thin. Or smash it using a heavy kitchen utensil such a rolling pin. Sprinkle salt all over and let it rest. Discard water released.
- Make Dressing: Heat oil and toast the seeds lightly. Add pepper flakes and steep in oil. Stir in wasabi, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and set aside.
- Toss & Combine: Pour dressing over cucumber, add herbs and toss everything together.
Top Tips
- Smash cucumbers carefully. Firm enough to break the cucumbers but not to crush the interior too much.
- Cut the smashed cucumbers on the diagonal, to get longer pieces.
- If using English cucumbers with too many seeds, then be sure to deseed them.
Variations
This pickled cucumber salad is low carb, gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, egg free, dairy free, nut free, and grain free.
- Soy Free: Skip the soy sauce.
- Wasabi: I sometimes substitute this with grated ginger or garlic.
How To Serve It
There are plenty of ways to enjoy this Asian style pickled salad.
- Salad: Serve it as a simple salad or topped with tuna. Add some sticky rice for a sushi taste.
- On Crackers: Smear some labneh on pita bite whole grain crackers and top it with pickled cucumber slices.
- With Bread/Toast: Spread some mayonnaise on bread slices or toast and top it with the spicy cucumber slices.
- Wraps/Sandwiches: Add the cucumber salad to the filling.
What To Serve Along
Some ideas for what to serve with this delicious pickled cucumber salad.
- With Rice: Koshari (Egyptian Rice), Shrimp Rice with Herbs
- With Meats/Chicken:
Make Ahead
Prepare the dressing in larger quantities and keep it in the refrigerator for a quick and handy dressing.
Make a lot of this low carb salad for light lunches.
Storage and Leftovers
This salad keeps well in the refrigerator for 5 to 6 days. But it is not freezer friendly.
Nutrition Facts
Pickled cucumber salad is very healthy, light and flavorful. Checkout the serving suggestions above to incorporate in your diet.
Cucumbers are such a delightful and versatile vegetable (botanically a fruit). Although not a significant source of many minerals and vitamins, cucumbers are a great choice in diets as the carry flavor very well.
Furthermore, they are low in calories, carbohydrates and fat, which makes it very appealing for weight management approaches. Mostly composed of water, cucumbers are a great source of compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties such as cucurbitacins and cucumegastigmanes.
More Spicy Salads
★ DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? PLEASE COMMENT AND GIVE IT A STAR RATING BELOW!
Pickled Cucumber Salad (Asian Style)
Ingredients
- 1 lb cucumbers 6 Persian cucumbers or 2 English cucumbers
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons cilantro chopped
- 3 tablespoons green onions chopped, see note
Dressing
- 1½ tablespoons toasted sesame oil preferred
- ¼ teaspoon black seeds
- 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoons Aleppo red pepper
- 1 teaspoon wasabi powder or grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 /2 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- Cut thin slices of cucumber preferably using a mandolin slicer. Alternatively you can smash the cucumbers with the help of a rolling pin or pestle, firm enough to let the sides crack open but not to crush the interior. See note.
- Sprinkle salt on cucumber slices, toss and let it rest for 15 minutes until it releases some liquid. Drain and set aside.
- Heat oil at medium. Add black seeds and sesame seeds and toast lightly. Then add Aleppo pepper flakes. Turn off the heat and let it steep in oil for couple minutes until it releases some color. Stir in wasabi, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and set aside.
- Mix dressing well and drizzle over cucumbers. Add green onions, cilantro and toss everything together.
- Allow the salad to rest an hour or refrigerate overnight before serving.
Notes
- Cucumbers: English cucumbers are suitable for slicing. And Persian cucumbers work well for the smashing method. If using English cucumbers with thick skin to make smashed salad, then peel zebra stripes.
- Green Onions: Substitutes are chives, chopped shallots or red onions.
- Wasabi: The commonly available wasabi product is either an imitation or a combination with horse radish. And it is sold as a paste or a powder. Typically the latter does not have additives and is easy to store. Substitutes for wasabi that have a pungent taste are grated ginger or grated garlic.
- Black Seeds: You only need a small amount of this. Test it and scale it up as per your preference.
- Make Ahead: Prepare the dressing in larger quantities and refrigerate it for a handy dressing.
- Storage and Leftovers: This salad can be refrigerated for 5 to 6 days. But it is not freezer friendly.
- Nutrition Facts: The value for sodium is an approximation.
- For more information on ingredients, variations and serving suggestions, scroll up the page to the blog post.
Deepika says
Now, this is an interesting take on cucumbers. I am loving the flavors in it. Need to try soon.
Tara says
Oh wow! The flavor of the pickled cucumbers sounds absolutely amazing. I love how easily it all comes together too.
Gina says
I always order these when we're out to eat, never realized how easy it was to make them myself!
Roxana Begum says
And this is a bit different in flavor from those too!
Amanda says
This cucumber salad is fantastic! It was so refreshing and the pepper added the perfect kick. Super simple too!
Roxana Begum says
So glad you liked it.
Lauren says
I have been loving pickling all kinds of foods lately, but this spicy pickled cucumber recipe is one of my favs so far!
Roxana Begum says
And its so easy too.