This put up might include affiliate hyperlinks. Please learn my privateness coverage.
This simple Chinese language cucumber salad is crisp, tangy, and calmly candy. Contemporary cucumbers are salted, chilled, and tossed with a easy mixture of sugar and Chinese language rice vinegar for that excellent crunch and refreshing taste. It makes an important appetizer or facet dish for any meal.
Crunchy Asian Cucumber Salad
There’s a frequent false impression that Chinese language meals is unhealthy, greasy, and principally deep fried. In actuality, many Chinese language recipes are recent, gentle, and stuffed with taste, like this crisp cucumber salad. Chinese language salads are sometimes served as a chilly appetizer throughout a multicourse meal to cleanse the palate and put together you for the principle dishes. What makes this cucumber salad so interesting is how brilliant and crisp it feels with each chew. It’s the type of dish that immediately wakes up your style buds, providing a cool, tangy distinction to richer or heavier flavors on the desk.
This crunchy Asian cucumber salad is tangy, calmly candy, and completely balanced, with a satisfying crunch that retains it vigorous and refreshing. Even with just some easy elements, it provides brightness to any meal. It pairs fantastically with spicier dishes akin to Sichuan Purple Oil Wontons or richer foremost programs akin to Braised Pork Stomach (Dongpo Rou) and Twice Cooked Pork, giving your palate a refreshing break whereas including a pop of coloration and taste to the desk.
Your New Favourite Appetizer
Right here’s why this simple dish deserves a spot in your desk:
- Gentle, crisp, and refreshing. Each chew is cool and crunchy, the type of texture that immediately wakes up your urge for food.
- Tangy with a touch of sweetness. The steadiness of vinegar and sugar provides it that clear, brilliant taste you’ll crave after one thing wealthy or spicy.
- Excellent make-ahead dish. It will get even higher after chilling, so it’s at all times able to serve straight from the fridge.
Substances You’ll Want
- Cucumber
- Chinese language rice vinegar
Try the recipe card on the backside of this put up for all of the ingredient particulars.
Professional Tip #1: Why I Use Japanese Cucumbers
I desire Japanese cucumbers as a result of they’ve decrease water content material in comparison with common cucumbers, which helps preserve the salad additional crisp. They’re naturally crunchy and juicy, giving the salad that satisfying chew each time. However you should use common cucumbers too.
Professional Tip #2: Salt Is Key
Salt isn’t only for seasoning. Sprinkling it over the cucumbers attracts out extra water, protecting them crunchy as a substitute of soggy. It additionally calmly seasons the cucumbers in order that they’re flavorful even earlier than including the vinegar and sugar.
Professional Tip #3: Don’t Skip The Sugar
A bit of sugar balances the tang from the Chinese language rice vinegar and enhances the pure freshness of the cucumber. It rounds out the flavour so the salad is brilliant and refreshing, not simply bitter.
Professional Tip #4: Why Chinese language Rice Vinegar Works Finest
I exploit Chinese language rice vinegar for its delicate, barely candy acidity. It provides the salad that signature tangy taste with out overpowering the cucumbers. It’s softer and extra aromatic than common white vinegar, making each chew completely balanced.
How To Make Chinese language Cucumber Salad
First, give your cucumber an excellent rinse below chilly water and chop off the ends. I used Japanese cucumbers, so I sliced them in half lengthwise since they’re thinner. In case you’re utilizing common cucumbers, slice them into quarters lengthwise as a result of they’re thicker and have extra water.
Subsequent, scoop out the seeds with a spoon and pat the cucumber items dry with a paper towel in order that they don’t get watery.
Slice the cucumbers diagonally into bite-sized items. This makes them simple to seize and excellent for tossing within the dressing later.
Put the cucumbers in a bowl, sprinkle with salt, and allow them to sit for about half-hour. This helps carry out that pure crunch all of us love.
Drain any additional water from the bowl.
Then combine in sugar and Chinese language rice vinegar. This provides the salad a brilliant, tangy-sweet taste that basically wakes up your style buds.
Pop it within the fridge for at the very least an hour earlier than serving. It tastes even higher chilly, and it’s nice as a make-ahead facet dish for dinners, gatherings, or everytime you need a refreshing chew.
Regularly Requested Questions
Chinese language rice vinegar works greatest for this recipe. It has a gentle, barely candy style that blends completely with the cucumbers. In case you don’t have it, you may substitute with rice wine vinegar and even white vinegar, however the taste will likely be just a little sharper.
That normally occurs if the cucumbers weren’t salted lengthy sufficient or not drained correctly. Be sure to allow them to sit with salt for about half-hour, then pat dry earlier than including the dressing.
It’s greatest served chilly. Chilling it for at the very least an hour lets the vinegar soak in and retains the cucumbers crisp and refreshing.
It stays recent for as much as 2 days in an hermetic container. After that, the cucumbers may soften just a little, so it’s greatest loved throughout the first day for that excellent crunch.
This recipe is 14 energy per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
For a straightforward and healthful Chinese language weeknight dinner, I like to recommend the next recipes:
I hope you take pleasure in this put up as a lot as I do. In case you attempt my recipe, please go away a remark and take into account giving it a 5-star score. For easier and scrumptious recipes, discover my Recipe Index, and keep up to date by subscribing to my e-newsletter and following me on Fb, Pinterest, and Instagram for brand new updates.
Different Cucumber Salad Recipes You Would possibly Like
Stop your display from going darkish
-
Rinse the cucumber completely below chilly working water and lower off the ends. If utilizing a Japanese cucumber, slice it in half lengthwise. If utilizing a daily cucumber, quarter it lengthwise.
-
Use a teaspoon to scoop out the seeds, then pat the cucumber items dry with paper towels.
-
Slice the cucumber diagonally into bite-sized items.
-
Switch the cucumber right into a bowl, sprinkle with salt, and blend nicely. Let it sit for half-hour.
-
Drain any extra water, then add sugar and Chinese language rice vinegar. Stir to mix.
-
Chill within the fridge for at the very least 1 hour earlier than serving. Function a refreshing appetizer or facet dish.
Serving: 4folks, Energy: 14kcal, Carbohydrates: 3g, Protein: 0.4g, Fats: 0.1g, Saturated Fats: 0.01g, Polyunsaturated Fats: 0.003g, Monounsaturated Fats: 0.003g, Sodium: 583mg, Potassium: 102mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 54IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 11mg, Iron: 0.2mg
Vitamin info is mechanically calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.
