This Spicy Cucumber Salad is a simple recipe that can be used as an easy appetizer, side salad, or afternoon snack. It's a fun spin on a Korean cucumber side dish and will absolutely wow your taste buds!
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📋 About the Recipe
- Made with 8 ingredients. If you need a simple side dish to pair with your main course, this crunchy Korean cucumber salad is a realistic option for an easy weeknight dinner. You only need 8 ingredients, plus salt and crushed red pepper flakes, if desired.
- A great way to use up crisp cucumbers. I love adding crisp cucumbers to my salads (like in my Summer Tortellini Caprese Salad, Jerusalem Salad, and this Rainbow Orzo Salad with Pesto). If you have a ton of cucumbers to use up, there's no better way to enjoy their great crunch than making them into a delicious salad with a spicy, unique flavor.
- It's easy to customize. If you love spicy food, you can really crank up the heat in this cucumber salad. Or, add your favorite ingredients such as green onions, additional garlic, or thinly sliced red onion.
🛒 Ingredients
A few notes about the ingredients:
- Cucumbers - I used mini seedless cucumbers, but you can also use English cucumbers or Korean cucumbers if you have access to them at your local Asian grocery store or Korean supermarket. These cucumbers have a crisp texture and mild flavor that allows the flavor in the spicy dressing to shine. For the best textured salad, use a tender cucumber without a lot of seeds. For help cutting cucumbers, check out this tutorial on how to cut cucumbers.
- Rice wine vinegar - This vinegar is made from fermented rice. It's tangy, slightly sweet, and more mild tasting than white vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Check for it in your local grocery store in the Asian foods or vinegar aisles.
- Sugar - Granulated sugar adds a natural sweetness without overpowering the savory ingredients in the spicy dressing.
- Toasted sesame seeds - If you've never toasted your own sesame seeds, it's a game changer! Heat a dry skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add in the sesame seeds in a single layer and toast for a couple of minutes, until lightly browned and nutty.
- Gochujang - This recipe is my personal spin on a Korean cucumber salad, also known as "Oi Muchim," and instead of using gochugaru (ground red pepper), I'm using Korean chili paste for a spicy kick. The heat level can vary depending on the brand and variety, but in general, it's fairly spicy.
⁉️ Substitutions and Alterations
- Sugar substitutes - Replace the granulated cane sugar with light brown sugar, agave nectar, or even honey if needed.
- Gochujang substitute - If you don't have gochujang on hand or prefer an alternative, try sriracha, chili garlic sauce, cayenne pepper, or Korean red pepper flakes. Adjust the measurement to taste if substituting - each ingredient won't be a true 1:1 swap.
📓 Instructions
- Salt the cucumbers. Place the sliced cucumbers, garlic, and salt in a medium sized mixing bowl. Stir to combine. Let the cucumbers sit for about 10 minutes - this will help draw out the excess moisture from the cucumbers.
- Make the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, gochujang, and sesame oil until smooth and combined.
- Drain the excess water from the cucumbers. After 10 minutes, the salt should have drawn out the excess liquid from the thick slices and pooled in the bottom of the mixing bowl. Once removed, add in the salad dressing and stir to coat. Let the cucumbers sit in the sauce for at least 5 minutes.
- Serve. Serve this spicy cucumber salad topped with sesame seeds and red pepper flakes, or as desired.
❄️ How to Store
To store: This refreshing side dish will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up 2 to 3 days. For best results, enjoy as soon as possible. As it sits, the crisp cucumber will slowly become soggy.
To freeze: Freezing this fresh, spicy cucumber salad recipe is not recommended. Once frozen, cucumber drastically changes its texture and is one of those vegetables that's better fresh.
🔍 Recipe FAQs
Yes. If you are sensitive to spice, reduce or omit the gochujang and red pepper flakes. Alternatively, if you love spicy flavors, feel free to increase the gochujang.
If your cucumber salad is watery, it's possible all of the excess water from the sliced cucumber wasn't removed. Cucumbers have a high water content and if not removed ahead of time, it will result in a watery salad.
To combat this, let the salted cucumber slices sit for at least 10 minutes. Any shorter, and the cucumbers may add extra water to the sauce.
Rinsing the cucumbers after salting is not recommended for a couple of reasons. For one, the added salt helps add additional flavor to the sauce.
Second, if you were to rinse the cucumbers with water, the cucumbers would absorb the water you rinsed it with and defeat the purpose of drawing the water out in the first place.
This cucumber salad is naturally dairy free and vegan.
If you are gluten free or sharing this salad with someone who is gluten intolerant, make sure to purchase a gluten free gochujang paste and replace the low-sodium soy sauce with low-sodium tamari. Most traditional gochujang pastes and soy sauces contain wheat.
💭 One More Tip
If you have the time, let it marinate. This spicy asian cucumber salad can be marinated for as little as 5 minutes, but if you have the time, let it marinate for about 1 hour. The longer it sits, the more flavorful it will become because the cucumbers will have a chance to absorb more of the flavor from the dressing.
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Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know! Tag @yourhomemadehealthy on Instagram or leave a comment with a rating and some feedback at the bottom of this page!
Spicy Cucumber Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups sliced mini seedless cucumbers (about 7 cucumbers) *cut cucumbers about ½-inch thick so they don't get soggy
- ¾ teaspoon finely minced garlic (about 1 garlic clove)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon gochujang
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- ½ tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- crushed red pepper flakes, for garnish
Instructions
- Place cucumbers, garlic, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir to combine. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk together rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, gochujang, and sesame oil until smooth and combined.
- Drain any juices from the bowl with the cucumbers. Pour dressing on top and stir to coat the cucumbers. Let cucumbers sit in the dressing for at least 5 minutes before serving.
- Serve chilled or room temperature, topped with toasted sesame seeds and red pepper flakes.
Notes
- Serve this salad shortly after making it, since the cucumbers can start to get soggy quickly.
- Check out this tutorial on how to cut cucumbers for helpful tips.
Nutrition
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