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!
I added dill, feta and tomatoes because I was envisioning two different salads and thought what the heck. It came out great!
So good! And a perfect snack!
If I am making this the night before a work luncheon, do you recommend not mixing it u til the morning or will it hold okay overnight? Thank you!
It will definitely get juicier overnight, so I would probably just slice the vegetables and leave the dressing separate, then combine then before the luncheon.
I made this salad for a luncheon featuring Thai food and it was delicious and well received by everyone. I went to Asian market looking for “toasted” sesame oil and even though they must have had at least a dozen brands none of them said toasted so I just used regular and it worked out fine. I had to make the salad almost.3 hours early because the luncheon was an hour away and it did get watered down. Not sure how to resolve this in the future but will research it because I will be making it for my family who all love cucumbers. Loved it ( before it got watered down.)
What I’ve found that helps with the excess water release of the cucumber is to salt the cucumber prior to mixing and then to pat them dry with paper towels prior to mixing. It sweats the cucumbers and makes the finishing salad or leftover salad much less watery.
I would like to try this salad can i use regular vinegar.
I think you might mean white vinegar when you say “regular”, and if so, white vinegar is MUCH stronger than rice vinegar, so it will definitely change the flavor. I suggest getting rice vinegar if at all possible.
This was absolutely delicious! Made it as a side to Thai lettuce wraps and coconut rice. Thanks for a great recipe!
“chopped peanuts”…roasted peanuts, salted peanuts, raw peanuts..what kind of peanuts?
Any of the above. :)
This is so delicious! We have made it with zucchini instead of the cucumber and it was just as good. Thanks for such a great recipe!
So fresh and yummy. Takes a minute or 2 ti make. I reduced the sugar a little, ans I would use less onion next time. The dressing is light and delicious.
Delicious, simple, and healthy. Substituted stevia for the sugar and added shrimp to make it a main course. Sharing this genius recipe with all my friends!
My family LOVED this. My husband took it to work and one of his coworkers that doesn’t like cucumbers even loved it. Thank you. Your site is one of my favourites.
Just made this and had to sample…yum!
What other oil can i use instead o sesame?
You really need toasted sesame oil for this recipe. It has a unique and robust flavor that is unlike any other variety and it adds a lot to the salad.
This is a delicious dish. It reminds me of my grandmother’s marinated cucumbers, which were just vinegar and sugar. These are a great twist on those. Thanks!
We LOVE this salad! Where could I find the nutritional information for it? Thanks!
If you Google “recipe nutrition calculator” you can find several online calculators that allow you to enter ingredients and get nutritional information. I don’t find these calculators reliable or accurate, which is why I do not provide the information.