Asian Cucumber Salad. Even before I begin talking about this super delicious salad let me preface this blog post by saying I really dislike the term “Asian”, to describe recipes with certain flavors that come from this continent. Asia is the world’s largest continent with tens of countries, hundreds of cultures all eating different cuisines. I used the term after thinking for sometime and finally went ahead and used it only because I feel this cucumber salad is a basic template that can be tweaked with a few variation in ingredients that will result in a totally different recipe pertaining to a particular cuisine. And that’s something I love about this salad.
- Thai fish sauce, lime juice, Thai Basil, Thai chilles, roasted cashew or peanuts.
- Korean Gochugaru, garlic, sesame oil, even some kimchi juice is wonderful.
- Japanese more sesame oil, gomasai, garlic chives and skip the chili paste
I love to serve it as a side dish along side my seared sesame crusted tofu bowl or Seared tuna rice bowl. Its also delicious and adds a fresh component to my Hijiki fried rice, Spicy Basil fried rice, Green Curry fried rice or Tom Yum fried rice, Thai salmon cakes you get the idea. Enjoy!
Asian Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb Persian cucumbers, about 5 pieces, thinly sliced
- 4-5 scallions or spring onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp ginger, minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
- 1 tsp soy sauce, low sodium, TamarI or shoyu
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp roasted sesame oil
- tbsp sugar or maple syrup or honey
- ¼-½ tsp sea salt, depending on the saltiness of the soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds or gomasai, roasted if possible
- 1 tsp any hot chili sauce or paste
Instructions
- Slice the cucumbers thinly. Place them in a bowl, sprinkle salt and toss this will help them release water.
- Add the remaining ingredients to a small mixing bowl except spring onions and sesame seeds. Mix well.
- Serve along side any Asian inspired dish as a side dish.
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