This healthy and refreshing Japanese Cucumber Salad (Sunomono) is simple to throw together and packed with a ton of flavor! Crunchy sliced cucumbers are tossed with an Asian inspired dressing of soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil and sugar! This will be your new go to side dish!
Love quick and easy side dish recipes? Then try my Quick Pickled Red Onions and my Cucumber Avocado Salad!
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What Is Japanese Cucumber Salad?
This super simple and delicious side dish consists of sliced cucumbers tossed with an Asian-style dressing made of low-sodium soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil (toasted is preferred), brown sugar, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes. Then, it’s topped with crunchy sesame seeds, and voila! Your Asian cucumber salad is done! Allow it to marinate for 30 minutes, or so, if time allows, but you can definitely dig in right away.
This is the perfect summer side dish because it’s light, refreshing, and super flavorful. It’s super satisfying without weighing you down! I love to serve this at weekend barbecues with grilled chicken or steak kebabs, roasted asparagus, quick pickled red onions, and some blueberry cobbler for dessert. Heaven!
This would also be a great meal-prep dish and weeknight recipe, especially if served with some Asian-style grilled chicken or fish, roasted broccoli, and some fluffy brown rice.
variations
- Looking for more Asian flavor? Add a splash of fish sauce or chopped Thai basil for more umami-goodness!
- Add more veggies like sliced or shredded carrots, sliced onions, or sliced bell peppers.
- Make this homemade cucumber salad more filling by mixing in some nuts like chopped roasted peanuts or sliced almonds!
- Turn this into a salad with your favorite leafy green lettuce, kale, and/or spinach, along with some protein like my chicken katsu. Yum!
- Spice it up with some sliced jalapenos or serrano peppers in place of the crushed red pepper flakes!
how to make easy cucumber salad
- All you need to do to make this Asian Cucumber Salad at home is to slice some fresh cucumbers to your preferred thickness and toss them with the prepared Asian-style marinade. Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving, and enjoy! It is easy to customize the dressing to your liking. If you want it sweeter add more sugar, less heat add more crushed red pepper flakes!
- Wanting to make this for meal-prep? Go for it! Store the assembled cucumber salad in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 2 days. Any longer than that, and the acids in the dressing will break down the cucumbers and make them mushy.
what to serve with cucumber salad
- Mongolian Beef
- Honey Sesame Chicken
- Salmon Teriyaki
- Sesame Beef
- Fried Rice
- Szechuan Beef
- Vegetable Spring Rolls
More Side Dish Recipes To Try
- Quick Pickled Red Onions
- Cucumber Avocado Salad
- Air Fryer Vegetables
- Broccoli Salad
- Berry Fruit Salad
- Berry Spinach Salad with Berry Balsamic Vinaigrette
products i used
Japanese Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 3 mini Persian cucumbers, sliced (about 3 cups)
- 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp light brown sugar, or more if you like it sweeter
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or more if you like it spicy
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- Combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Pour asian dressing on to the cucumbers and toss to combine. Serve with extra crushed red pepper flakes on top and sesame seeds for garnish!
Nutrition Information
Did you make this?
I’d love to hear your feedback! Leave a review and make sure to share your pictures on social media! Don’t forget to follow @thechefsavvy.
Allie @ AllCookwareFind
I like this Asian recipe that it’s very easy to prepare and make you feel refreshed. I think it’s the perfect appetizer for summer.
Cheryl M Kendy
this was the best ever!!
Kelley Simmons
So glad you enjoyed this Cheryl! Thanks so much for sharing!
Judy
I thought this recipe was quite lovely and so did my adult son. We gobbled them up. So light and refreshing. Out of curiosity, is there a minimum/maximum marinating time. Or should this be served immediately upon dressing?
Kelley Simmons
I am so glad you and your son enjoyed this recipe Judy! I would only make this a couple of hours ahead of time. The cucumbers will soften up and won’t be as crunchy the longer they sit. Thanks!
Diana Bell
My 12 year old made this for us tonight — so delicious!! Will be in the regular rotation for sure!
Kelley Simmons
Yah that makes me so happy! Thank you so much for sharing Diana!
Theo
Making this tonight. Looks delicious!
Meow
What a fantastic recipe! Great way to use up extra garden cucumbers for snacking. Used long, home-grown English cucumbers and sliced down the middle and cut in halves. Placed cucumbers on grill not only to draw out excess moisture but to give char marks. Placed cucumbers in Asian sauce to coat/marinate and placed in refrigerator. Cucumbers were perfect after marinating. They were even delicious/not soggy the next day.
Kelley Simmons
Yah so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing!
Lisa Sanders
Delish! Easy recipe and very tasty. We used a little honey instead of the brown auger.
Cont
‘Asian’.
Asia is a very large continent, consisting of many countries. There is no such thing as ‘Asian style’ or ‘Asian inspired’.
Not cont
Definitely a cont
Drew
Is this to be enjoyed immediately or can it hold in the fridge for a day or two before eating?
Kelley Simmons
I would recommend eating it sooner rather than later. The cucumbers will loose their crunch if you leave it in the refrigerator for a day. I recommend if you want to make this in advance to make the sauce and store it separately with the sliced cucumbers and toss it when you are ready to eat.
Drew
Thoroughly enjoyable by all! Definately a keeper recipe.
Sharon
Thank you for this recipe. I love this salad so much. I will eat this all year. Not just in the summer.