This easy Asian Cucumber Salad is perfect light and refreshing side for spring and summer! It's incredibly easy to prepare and the perfect delicious alternative to lackluster simple side salads!Recipe can be scaled up or down by using the slider if you hover your mouse over the number of Servings.
Salt cucumbers: Place 1/3 of the cucumbers in a colander or fine-mesh strainer suspended inside a medium-size bowl (you need to bowl to catch the excess cucumber juice!). Season the cucumbers with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Layer another 1/3 of the cucumbers over top and season them with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Repeat one more time - laying down the remaining cucumbers and salting them with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Use your hands to gently toss the cucumbers to ensure they have light contact with the salt.Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 45 minutes or up to overnight - this process will purge the cucumbers of all excess moisture which helps prevent your salad from becoming watery!NOTE: I like to season the cucumbers in three batches to ensure they all get evenly coated with the salt.
Meanwhile, make the vinegar sauce: In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the dressing (vinegar through honey). Whisk well and set aside.
Dry cucumbers: When cucumbers have been drained of excess moisture, remove them from fridge and discard excess liquid. Transfer the cucumbers to a clean surface lined with paper towels, a tea towel or kitchen towel. Pat the cucumbers thoroughly dry. (I like to do this in two batches to ensure I get the cucumbers very dry!)
Toss cucumber salad: Transfer the cucumbers to a medium sized bowl. Add the red onions, scallions and cilantro. Add 3/4 of the sauce and toss well to coat.
For Best Results - Chill: Place the salad in the refrigerator and allow the flavors to develop, for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 hours, stirring the cucumbers occasionally.
Serve: When ready to serve, taste the salad and add more of the sauce as desired. Adjust for taste with salt if needed and garnish with sesame seeds, peanuts and avocado if using. Enjoy!
Notes
Purchasing cucumbers: Make sure you use seedless (or semi-seedless) cucumbers in this recipe. I used English cucumbers because that is what was freshest and readily available at my market. However, if you can get your hands on seedless, Japanese cucumbers, that would be my first choice! As well, Persian cucumbers will work here too. If you use English cucumbers like I did here, there is no need to scoop out or remove the seeds.
Slicing cucumbers: Slice the cucumbers as thin as possible! If you have a mandoline, I recommend using it. If not, no worries - just slice them by hand and take a little extra care to slice them as thin as you can get them.
Salt: Make sure you salt the sliced cucumbers to draw out as much excess liquid as possible!! The sweet, tangy dressing is a major component of this easy Asian cucumber salad. If you don't take the extra (hands off) time to salt the cucumbers and allow them to drain, you will be watering down the dressing, which is a crying shame!! It's ridiculously easy to apply a little salt to the cucumbers, toss them and place them in a fine-mesh sieve to drain, so do NOT skip this step!
Nutritional information is an approximation based upon 6 servings and does not include any optional add-ins. Exact information will depend upon the brands of ingredients and precise measurements used.