Description
A refreshing, crunchy spiral-cut cucumber salad tossed in a bold, spicy-sweet Asian dressing—ideal as a quick side or snack.
Ingredients
6–8 Persian cucumbers
2 Tbsp salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 green onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
½ Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Place a chopstick on each side of a cucumber and cut at a 45° angle down to the chopsticks; rotate 90° and cut straight to create long intact spirals.
- Put spiral cucumbers in a bowl, sprinkle with salt, massage to draw out moisture, and let rest 15–20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mince garlic and thinly slice green onion.
- Quickly rinse cucumbers to remove excess salt, drain, and pat dry thoroughly.
- Add garlic, green onion, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, gochugaru, brown sugar, and sesame seeds to cucumbers; massage to coat evenly.
- Serve immediately to retain crispness.
Notes
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 1 day—salad will soften over time.
- Optional add-ins: radish or carrot ribbons, chopped cilantro or Thai basil, toasted nuts or peanuts, and a squeeze of lime juice.
- Adjust salt and gochugaru levels to your preference.
- If using regular cucumbers, remove seeds before slicing.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes (plus 15–20 minutes resting)
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: No-Cook, Spiral Cutting
- Cuisine: Asian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 30 kcal
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 500 mg
- Fat: 2 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 3 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
