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This quick Korean cucumber salad is a great addition to your banchan and your Korean BBQ feast! It’s refreshing, crunchy, and every bit flavorful!
Refreshing and Crunchy: Korean Cucumber Salad
Once warm weather rolls around, I’m a cucumber salad fiend. I make this Korean cucumber salad almost weekly. There are always a lot of sales on hothouse English cucumbers around spring and summer time and I’m always buying at least 2-3 of them for all the cucumber salads I make.
For example, the classic American cucumber salad is tangy and sweet while my spicy Asian cucumber salad is equally filled with savory and spice. Growing up, my mom would make chilled soy garlic cucumbers and it was so refreshing to eat on a hot and humid day. This Korean cucumber salad uses the same Korean red pepper flakes and since they come in such a large bag, you now have yet another use for them with this cucumber kimchi recipe.
How to Make Korean Cucumber Salad
- Mix together seasonings for the cucumber kimchi. It will kind of be like a loose paste.
- Add the sliced cucumbers then using your hands (use of latex gloves is recommended), heavily mix and massage to distribute the paste throughout the cucumbers until they’re all evenly coated well.
- Allow to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour. You can serve this immediately as well.
- Serve and garnish with white sesame seeds on top!
Add to Banchan: Korean Cucumber Salad
Kimchi, Korean cucumber salad, and a plethora of other side dishes are called banchan, which refers to the side dishes that are served alongside Korean meals like in Korean BBQ. They’re often set in the center of the table so it can be shared by all.
Korean Dishes to Serve Alongside
These Korean dishes are the perfect main entree to serve the Korean cucumber salad with.
Storing Instructions
Keep leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days max. After 2 days, the cucumbers start to get overdone and not great.
Korean Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons gochugaru
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 large seedless English cucumber, sliced medium-thin, about ¼ – ½ inch thick
- White sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- Mix together gochugaru, rice vinegar, sugar, garlic, and sesame oil. It will kind of be like a loose paste.2 tablespoons gochugaru, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 3 cloves garlic, ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- Add the sliced cucumbers then using your hands (use of latex gloves is recommended), heavily mix and massage to distribute the paste throughout the cucumbers until they’re all evenly coated well.1 large seedless English cucumber
- Serve immediately and garnish with white sesame seeds on top!White sesame seeds
Nutrition
Photographs by Meg McKeehan Photography
