This quick and healthy Chinese cucumber salad is easy, refreshing, and perfect for summer! It’s paleo, vegan, keto, and Whole30 friendly, the perfect dish to serve with any meal.

 

The Papa Shuang Famous Asian Cucumber Salad is finally here!

This is one of my favorite family recipes and I’m so excited to share it with you all!

A bowl of asian cucumber salad. There are cucumbers, red bell pepper, red onion and black sesame seeds.

Made with fresh, crispy cucumbers, and a perfect bite of red onion tossed in a classic Asian umami sauce. This Cucumber Salad is …

Heaven.

Cucumber recipes are perfect for the summer.

You can serve this cucumber salad as a side dish with just about anything. Try pair it with these to complete the Asian flavors:

    1. Crispy Teriyaki Salmon {Whole30}
    2. Instant Pot Cashew Chicken (Whole30)
    3. Whole 30 Sticky Asian Meatballs

Of course, or you can eat it by itself!

Ingredients For the Chinese Cucumber Salad

A bowl of asian cucumber salad. Ready to be mixed with the umami dressing. There are cucumbers, red bell pepper, red onion and black sesame seeds.

 

This Asian Salad dressing recipe uses a lot of classic ingredients that I grew up with (in China):

  • Sesame oil
  • Soy sauce (I used coconut aminos for a paleo substitute),
  • Rice Vinegar

For the salad itself, here is what you need:

  • Cucumbers
  • Red onion
  • Garlic
  • Ginger
  • salt and red pepper flake
  • cane sugar (optional)

Additionally, I love adding colorful veggies to my salads so some other ingredients I like to incorporate in this recipe are carrots, red pepper, and purple cabbage.

What Type of Cucumbers is Best for This Cucumber Salad?

A bowl of asian cucumber salad. There are cucumbers, red bell pepper, red onion and black sesame seeds.

English cucumbers are the best cucumbers to use for this recipe

These are the cucumbers that are long, thin, and straight.

They have delicate skin and tiny seeds in the center. English cucumbers tend to be a bit sweeter than the common, larger cucumber variety.

The skin on larger cucumbers is also thicker and has a more bitter flavor.

English cucumbers are sold in grocery stores all year long, but if you are having difficulty finding them look for cucumbers that have “seedless cucumbers” on the label.

They will usually be found wrapped in plastic wrap in the produce section.

I also really like Persian cucumbers, but they can be difficult to find. They are small and very crisp… If you come across Persian cucumbers at the store I highly recommend giving them a try!

 

How to Store Fresh Cucumbers

A bowl of asian cucumber salad. Ready to be mixed with the umami dressing. There are cucumbers, red bell pepper, red onion and black sesame seeds.

 

As soon as you bring your cucumbers home, take the cucumbers out of the packaging, then thoroughly wash and dry the cucumbers.

Any excess moisture will break them down faster so making sure they are completely dry will really extend the shelf life.

Store them wrapped either in a dry paper towel or dishtowel to help keep out humidity and moisture.

Put the wrapped cucumbers in a loosely tied bag or a container with a vented lid.

Airflow is helpful in preserving your cucumbers.

Keep them cool, but not too cold.

You can keep them stored closer to the front of the fridge and make sure the refrigerator temperature isn’t too cold.

The refrigerator temperature tends to be warmer in the front and cooler in the back. If your cucumbers start to freeze they will get mushy very quickly.

Wrap the open end of a used cucumber with plastic wrap and store as normal.

How to Make Chinese Cucumber Salad

 

First, thinly slice the cucumbers, onion, bell peppers, and carrots (if using any), ginger, and mince a clove of garlic.

Second, in a bowl, mix all of the ingredients for the dressing: garlic, coconut aminos, rice vinegar, sesame oil, salt, and red pepper flakes /cane sugar (optional).

Then, Pour the dressing over the cucumber salad mix.

Lastly, Mix well and serve. For best results, chill in the fridge for at least half an hour before serving.*

*Tricks from my dad:

letting the salad chill in the fridge for a couple of hours allows the cucumbers to marinate and soak up all the flavor as well as making the cucumbers perfectly fresh, chilled, and crisp!

How to Serve Asian Cucumber Salad

 

This cucumber salad is so tasty and refreshing that it’s perfect on its own.

But it also makes a great side dish as well! Some of my favorite recipes to serve it with are my

  1. Crispy Teriyaki Salmon {Whole30} (pictured here)
  2. Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry (Whole30)
  3. Healthy Paleo Orange Chicken

and more.

How to Store Asian Cucumber Salad

A bowl of asian cucumber salad. There are cucumbers, red bell pepper, red onion and black sesame seeds.

 

The salt in the dressing will pull water out of the cucumbers and make them soggy.

If you want to have enough for leftovers, simply store the cucumbers and the dressing separately, then follow steps 3 and 4 listed above to serve. 

Otherwise, drain the leftover dressing into a separate small container, and store the cucumber salad and dressing separately.

What is your favorite way to eat cucumber salad? Leave a comment below!

 

I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR CREATIONS! YOU CAN USE “TRIED IT” ON PINTEREST OR SHARE ON INSTAGRAM BY TAGGING #SHUANGYSEATS

A bowl of asian cucumber salad. There are cucumbers, red bell pepper, red onion and black sesame seeds.

You may also like these Easy Vegetable Side dishes:

1. Zucchini Mushroom Stir Fry (Gluten Free, Vegan)

2. Healthy Eggplant Parmesan {Oven Baked}

3. The Best Vegan Mushroom Bacon

A bowl of asian cucumber salad. There are cucumbers, red bell pepper, red onion and black sesame seeds.

Get the recipe:Asian Cucumber Salad

Yield: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
This quick and healthy Asian cucumber salad is easy, refreshing, and perfect for summer! It’s paleo, vegan, keto, and Whole30 friendly.
4.84 stars (6 reviews)
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Ingredients

  • 2 English Cucumbers
  • 1/2 small red onion
  • 1/4 small red pepper
  • 1 inch fresh ginger
  • 1 small clove garlic
  • 1 – 2 stalks of green onion

Dressing

  • 3 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 3 tbsp coconut aminos
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp sea salt *
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp sugar **

Equipment

  • Original Coconut Aminos

Instructions 

  • Wash and dry all the produce. Thin slice cucumbers, red onion, and red pepper. Mince ginger and garlic. Chop green onion for garnishing.
  • Add all the prepared produce to a big mixing bowl, except for the chopped green onion.
  • In a small bowl, whisk all the ingredients for the dressing.
  • Pour the dressing over prepared produce. Mix well.
  • For best results, chill in the fridge for half an hour before serving.

Notes

  1. * Salt to taste. Note that the coconut aminos is salty itself.
  2. ** My dad’s original recipe includes 1 tsp of cane sugar. You can use coconut sugar for paleo option, or omit it for Whole30 option.
  3. For storage instruction, check the "How to Store Asian Cucumber Salad" section in this post.
Serving: 1g, Calories: 69kcal, Carbohydrates: 8g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Sodium: 586mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 5g

The Nutrition Facts above are specific to the ingredients I chose to use for this recipe, which may vary.

Author: Shuang Shuang Liang
Course: Sides
Cuisine: Chinese