This salad is one of the very first recipes I ever posted on Budget Bytes. Like, way back when I was still taking photos with my pre-smart-phone era phone. Yikes! Because this Sesame Cucumber Salad is still one of my favorite dishes and my favorite way to use up all those delicious and inexpensive summer cucumbers, I had to repost it and give it the proper attention it needs. So, if this Sesame Cucumber recipe is new to you, I hope it becomes one of your go-to fav’s as it has for me. It will serve you well!
Do I Have to Use Rice Vinegar?
I strongly urge you not to substitute the rice vinegar in this recipe. Rice vinegar has a uniquely mild flavor and acidity that is just perfect for this recipe. While people have substituted the rice vinegar with white vinegar or apple cider vinegar, I find them both a bit too strong for this recipe. Also, be mindful not to use “seasoned” rice vinegar, which has other ingredients added and tastes quite different.
Where Do You Find Rice Vinegar?
Rice vinegar is fairly inexpensive, can be found in the Asian section of most major grocery stores, and will stay good in your pantry for just about forever. If you make Budget Bytes recipes on the regular, I promise it will get used again! In fact, here is a direct link to all the recipes on my website that use Rice Vinegar.
What is Toasted Sesame Oil?
The other key ingredient in this cucumber salad is toasted sesame oil. Unlike regular sesame oil, toasted sesame oil has a very strong nutty flavor and a little bit can really add a LOT of flavor to any dish. You can find toasted sesame oil in the international aisle of most major grocery stores, or Asian grocery stores. It may not say “toasted” on the label, but you’ll know it is toasted by the deep walnut color. Untoasted sesame oil is a light straw color, like canola oil.
How Long Does This Salad Last?
This salad does get kind of limp in the refrigerator fairly quickly, but it’s still insanely good once the cucumbers soften. They’re almost like pickled cucumber slices at that point. They’ve been marinating in the spicy-sweet vinegar solution and are just totally delicious! I enjoy this salad for about 2-3 days after making it (if I don’t eat it all sooner). If you like your cucumbers to stay crunchy, try cutting them into chunks instead of thin slices.
What To Serve with Sesame Cucumber Salad
This super fresh side dish goes with so many main dishes. Here are a few ideas: Easy Orange Chicken, Teriyaki Meatball Bowls or Teriyaki Chicken, One Pot Teriyaki Chicken and Rice, Sesame Chicken, or Honey Garlic Chicken.
Sesame Cucumber Salad
Servings 6Ingredients
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar ($0.70)
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 2 large cucumbers ($1.38)
- 3 green onions ($0.13)
- 1/4 cup chopped peanuts ($0.12)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, crushed red pepper, and salt. Set the dressing aside.
- Peel and slice the cucumber using your favorite method (see photos below for my technique). Place the sliced cucumbers in a large bowl.
- Chop the peanuts into smaller pieces. Slice the green onions.
- Add the peanuts, green onions, and dressing to the sliced cucumbers. Stir to combine. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat. Give the salad a brief stir before serving to redistribute the dressing and flavors.
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Nutrition
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Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Sesame Cucumber Salad – Step by Step Photos
Start by making the dressing. In a small bowl, stir together 1/3 cup rice vinegar, 2 Tbsp granulated sugar, 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, and 1/2 tsp salt. Set the dressing aside.
Here is the toasted sesame oil and rice vinegar that I used. The sesame oil is from Aldi and the rice vinegar is from Kroger.
Peel and slice two large cucumbers however you like. I like to remove strips of the peel to create a cool striped effect once they’re sliced. If you don’t like cucumber seeds, you can slice the cucumber lengthwise before slicing into rounds and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds in the center.
I prefer thin slices so that there is more surface area to come into contact with the dressing. The thinner slices will become soft and wobbly after storing them in the dressing, but I kind of like that, too. If you prefer them to stay crunchy longer, you’ll want to do thicker slices.
Roughly chop 1/4 cup peanuts and slice 3 green onions.
Place the sliced cucumbers in a large bowl, add the sliced green onion and chopped peanuts, then pour the dressing over top.
Finally, stir it all up and you’re ready to eat! Serve it immediately or refrigerate for later.
The flavors do get really good as it sits in the fridge, although the cucumbers get softer (some people don’t like that–I kind of do!). Either way, this Thai Cucumber Salad is super refreshing and delicious. It always has been and always will be my favorite!
Has anyone made this without the sugar or with less sugar? Curious how it would turn out as I prefer to stay away from added sugars when possible.
I made black bean noodles/jjajangmyeon and used this cucumber salad as a topping for it, it was amazing!! Perfect pairing. I make this salad all the time just as a snack, thank you :))
Any thoughts on a substitute for the peanuts? One in our family has a peanut/tree nut allergy.
I’d probably just add in a bunch of sesame seeds. :) You won’t get as much crunch, but you’ll still get some great texture and a nutty flavor.
Two weeks ago I took a break from my work and went online to relax and browse the net. I found this interesting BudgetBytes.com site and scrolled the recipes. I saw so many I knew I’d be trying, including this one. I had to get back to work but my mind kept thinking about this cucumber salad recipe! For several days I planned to make it for myself because I had all the ingredients! Uh-oh…I forgot where I saw it! I searched all over…did I save it? No. Did I join the site? No. Ok, I’ll look through my browser pages, I know I didn’t delete it! Oh, wow! I have 378 open windows! Hahaha! I had to open almost every page and at around the 243rd window SUCCESS! I found it!
As soon as I saw this Asian Cucumber Salad recipe again, I knew I would love it! It looked so easy to make, I could take it to potlucks (no Mayo) and with those exciting flavors, I definitely knew everyone would rave about it! I love it when I’m right!
Well I made it earlier (with no changes) this evening to go along with a stir fry I made yesterday. I couldn’t stop eating it! Haha!! It’s perfection!
I put away the cold stir fry and finished my bowl of Asian Cucumber Salad. I didn’t feel too bad eating this as my main dish…my only dish because I cut the recipe in half for today cuz I just had 2 Persian cukes. Mmmm! It’s 5 1/2 hours later and I’m still thinking about it! I still feel full and satisfied! Oh Lordy, I’m going to make it again in 2 days when my cousin comes over. Oh, I can’t wait to make a full batch! What will I serve with this? I’m treating it like it’s my main dish…so what meat side dish do I make? Another veggie too? Oh boy, its almost 1:00am, I need to get to bed! I’ll be dreaming of this Asian Cuke Salad for sure. Darn, I have to brush my teeth! I’ll just sit here for a few more minutes. Thank you, thank you for including this recipe!
Good tasting, light side dish. Too much liquid though.
I was looking for a simple salad to accompany a Thai dish, and this was perfect. Thank you! Not only refreshing in the summer but also in the winter when you’re craving a good salad. I used an English cucumber which usually equates two regular cucumbers and also has a thinner skin which is nice when not peeling. Thank you for the recipe; it’s definitely a keeper!
Sorry, meant to give it 5 stars.
Tastes just like what you would get at a Japanese restuarant. Anytime my cucumber are about to go bad I make this. Just simply perfect!
Great flavor and kept well in the fridge for a few days. Felt like there was too much liquid to cucumber ratio though so I’ll double the amount of cucumbers next time.
I put more sugar- equal to the amount of rice vinegar. I like sweet too.
I’ve made this twice in one week! The whole family loves it!
I made this for the first time today and it is very good! I felt the dressing needed a bit more oomph, so I added a pinch of powdered ginger. The powdered ginger added a nice pop of flavor.
I have made this many, many times over the past year or so. This dish is amazing! My boyfriend said last night that it’s one of his favorite things I make. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe!!
I’ve made this twice. The first time I left the heat out of it to make it kid friendly. It was pretty good. The second time I made it as written. Omg. I wanted to bathe in this dressing. IT. WAS. SO. GOOD.
This recipe is pretty good, but do you have any recommendations to dial back the sour acidity of the rice vinegar? Or to emphasize the sweet? My household doesn’t do sour very well and the rice vinegar was overpowering for us and made it difficult to eat the quantities that I made.
use the seasoned rice vinegar; mild and sweet
So good! Great way to use up excess garden cucumbers!