Korean Cucumber Salad

Fresh, crunchy cucumbers tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce, this Korean cucumber salad recipe makes a delicious Asian side dish. It's a quick and easy salad to make and has a sweet, savory, and spicy flavor that pairs beautifully with Asian cuisine.

Prep this salad in under 20 minutes and adjust the spice level to your taste.

5 from 18 votes

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Prep Time: 30

Total Time: 30

Servings: servings

Calories: 91kcal

Author: Pat Nyswonger

Ingredients

1-½ pounds Korean or English cucumbers
1 large bunch of chives sliced into 1 inch lengths
1 sweet white onion thinly sliced

For the Dressing

1 to 2 tablespoons gochugaru
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves finely minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Slice the cucumbers in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds in the center then slice them 1/4 inch thick.
Toss the cucumbers, chives, white onion, and minced garlic in a large bowl.
Combine 1 tablespoon gochugaru, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, sesame seeds and salt in a small dish. Taste the dressing. If you like it spicier, add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of gochugaru.
Toss the dressing with the cucumber mixture until well coated.
Let the salad sit for at least 15 minutes prior to serving it. You can let the salad marinate for 3 to 4 days for more flavor. After three days, the cucumbers will not have as much crunch to them but the flavors will be more intense.

Notes

If you can’t find Korean cucumbers, English cucumbers will make a good substitute. Both types of cucumbers have thin skin that isn’t bitter. They also have fewer seeds and a crunchy, slightly sweet flavor.

Remove the seeds from the cucumbers to prevent the salad from getting overly watery. The seeds will also add a slightly bitter flavor.

You can replace the chives with 3 green onions or a small bunch of Chinese garlic chives.

Gochugaru is Korean chili powder. It is less spicy than other chili powders and has a slightly sweet, smokey flavor. It is hard to replace the flavor of gochugaru with other chili powders.

For a slightly more complex flavor, you can use Gochujang paste which contains gochugaru powder but also has some bold, fermented flavors.

If the dressing is too spicy for your palate, replace half of the gochugaru powder with paprika powder.

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