The cucumber is elevated in the Spicy Cucumber Salad with sesame oil, Agrodolce vinegar, and crushed red pepper for a heated kick. This salad is easy to assemble and the flavors pop.
A summer trip to the farmers market in Michigan always yields the most fantastic vegetables and fruit as well as great conversation with the farmers that grow them. I didn’t have the Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad recipe in mind when I went to the market, my only mission was to stroll by every stand and see, smell and sample what they were offering.
I bought beautiful Michigan cucumbers ready for a fresh salad with my farmers market produce haul. The inspiration came because I also purchased fresh onion with stems fresh enough to use like scallion stems. The flavors in this cucumber salad are light and refreshing with a bit of zing, featuring two types of vinegar, sesame oil, and crushed red pepper for the spicy heat.
Ingredients
How to Make Spicy Cucumber Salad
This cucumber salad recipe comes together quickly and has those distinctive spice notes and this recipe is very similar to how to make Asian Cucumber Salad.
Prepare the Cucumbers. Peel the whole cucumber, cut lengthwise and remove the seeds. To easily remove the seeds you can use a spoon to gently scrape out the seeds.
Slice the cucumber one half at a time in about 1/4 inch slices, so these are not thin slices.
Thinly slice the onion. The onion you will need to clean and slice very thin, you will use about half of a small onion. As I have noted, if you have fresh green stems on your white onion cut some of those as well.
Prepare the sauce. Add all ingredients of the sauce in a bowl and mix together.
Final Preparations. With your cucumbers and onions in the serving dish add the sauce and mix well. Meanwhile, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, this give time for the salad to absorb the wonderful sauce to enhance the flavor and chill the cucumbers for a more refreshing salad.
Garnish and Serve. Lastly, garnish with fresh chopped parsley and another pinch of crushed red pepper if you like the additional heat.
Tips and Notes
What to Serve with Spicy Cucumber Salad
Spicy Cucumber Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 whole cucumbers
- 1/2 whole white onion with fresh green stems
- 1 1/2 tablespoon Toasted Sesame Oil
- 3 tablespoons Argodolce Vinegar
- 3 tablespoons Rice Vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley
Instructions
- Rinse your cucumber under cold water and peel, cut lengthwise and remove the seeds. To easily remove the seeds, you can use a spoon to scrape out the seeds gently.
- Clean and slice the onion very thin, you will use about half of a small onion. Also, if you have fresh green stems on your white onion, cut some of those as well.
- Slice the cucumber one half at a time in about 1/4 inch slices, so these are not thin slices.
- Add all ingredients of the sauce in a bowl and mix. Give a taste to make sure it has the best heat and salt for your flavor profile.
- Add your cucumbers and onions to the serving dish, add the sauce and mix well. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. This give time for the salad to absorb the wonderful sauce to enhance the flavor and chill the cucumbers for a more refreshing salad.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and another pinch of crushed red pepper if you like the additional heat.
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