If you love cucumbers, or even if you don’t, you have to try this Asian cucumber salad recipe! Smashing is essential to the making and eating experience – it creates crevices for the chunky chilli dressing to nestle in. The perfect combination of refreshing and firecracker heat. OBSESSED!
Spicy cucumber salad
Everybody who knows me knows that I become obsessed with shiny new toys and right now, that shiny new toy is Spicy Cucumber Salad. I’ve been making and eating it obsessively for weeks, sometimes as a meal, defensively using recipe checking as an excuse whenever someone commented on the presence of yet another tub of this in my fridge.
It’s quick to make. An addictive combination of refreshing cucumber with a spicy in-your-face dressing balanced with a generous handful of green onion and eschallots.
I can’t wait for you to become as obsessed as me. Let’s be defensive about our obsession together!
Scared of the chilli? Make Smashed Cucumbers with ginger sauce instead!
This cucumber smashing business
Cucumbers are slippery suckers. Dressing just doesn’t stick to it.
Which is why Asians are so fond of smashing cucumbers. Bash them with a meat mallet, rolling pin or other such heavy object so they burst open a bit. This creates splits and crevices for dressing and other salad add-ins (like green onions, sesame seeds) etc to nestle in. Which means more flavour in every bite. Plus you can salt them which draws excess water out which dilutes flavour when you eat them.
It’s a great technique. It’s effective for eating experience, and it’s fantastically therapeutic. Come home after a bad day at work and bash away!
Ingredients in Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad
Chilli crisp!
We’re welcoming back our old friend chilli crisp that I know you dashed out to get to make the Chilli Crisp Noodles from a few weeks ago. 😂 Adds great crunch from crispy chilli bits, bright red chilli oil and savoury flavour that all comes free in the jar – especially if you get the worldwide favourite Laoganma Crispy Chilli Oil which is popular for good reason. (Pictured below)
Spiciness – Surprisingly not that spicy, it looks far more fierce than it actually is! I can eat (small-ish) spoonfuls of it straight out of the jar.
Find Laoganma Crispy Chilli Oil in the Asian aisle of large grocery stores (Aus: Woolies), else in Asian stores, and read more about this addictive paste in the Chilli Crisp Noodles. Not to be confused with other chilli sauces made by this brand and similar, like Spicy Chilli Oil, Hot Chilli Sauce, Hot Chilli Oil. Look for the word CRISP or CRISPY or CRUNCH!
Other chilli crisp brands – There’s plenty out there, mass produced and boutique ones. Sold under various names but all akin to similar meaning – crispy chilli oil, chilli crunch, crunchy chilli oil, and just plainly “chilli crisp”. Also remember in the States, chilli is spelt with one “l” – chili.
The salad things
Here’s what you need for the salad part:
Cucumbers – Use four cucumbers around 19 – 20cm / 7-8″ long. Scale up or down if yours are larger or smaller. I use four of what we call Lebanese cucumbers here in Australia (pictured) or 2 longer English / telegraph cucumbers which are around 30cm/1 foot long.
Eschallot / French onion – Called shallots in the US, these baby onions are not as harsh onion-y and finer than regular onions. I find them a pain to peel – because they have fine, papery skin – so generally try to avoid them unless I really do think it makes a dish better. In today’s case, I like them because a) we use them raw and b) they flop better rather than being all pokey. Substitute with red onion but slice them extra finely. Maybe use a mandolin.
Green onion – For more freshness in the salad. With all the cucumber freshness and the bold spicy sauce, this salad can can take it. It wants it!
Sesame seeds – Tossed into the salad for extra sesame goodness.
The dressing
And here’s all you need for the very simple dressing. Because the chilli crisp does so much of the flavour heavy lifting here – it has garlic, salt, sugar, oil!
Sesame oil – For beautiful sesame flavour. Use toasted sesame oil – it’s brown and has more flavour than untoasted (which is yellow). Default sesame oil sold in Australia is toasted, untoasted is harder to find.
Rice vinegar – Because it’s an Asian salad, we’re using an Asian vinegar here which is milder than most western vinegars. However, any clear vinegar can be substituted in a pinch because this is not a primary ingredient – ordinary white vinegar, apple cider, champagne vinegar etc.
Soy sauce – The salt in the dressing. Use an all-purpose one or light soy sauce. Don’t use dark soy sauce (too strong) or sweet soy sauce (too sweet).
How to make Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad
Super simple – smash cucumber, salt it (draws out water that dilutes flavour), toss with 3 ingredient dressing and as much chilli crisp as you dare!
Smash and salt
Smashing – Hit the cucumber with a meat mallet, rolling pin, hammer or similar and relish in the stress relief or simply enjoy the fun factor. Hit hard enough to make them split open down the sides but not so hard you squish them into mush.
Cut the cucumber lengthwise down the middle then into 2.4cm/1″ pieces.
Salt 30 minutes – Put them in a bowl then toss with salt. Leave for 30 minutes. The salt will draw out water from the cucumbers which dilutes flavour when you eat them. It also seasons the cucumbers all the way though.
We’re only using 3/4 teaspoon salt here and you’ll be surprised how effective this is for the amount of cucumber we’re using.
Drain and discard the cucumber water from the bowl (too salty to re-use for another purpose). Use a colander if you want to be thorough else just drain it out of the bowl, using your hand to hold the cucumbers in.
Dress & toss
Dressing – Whisk the soy sauce, sesame oil and vinegar in a bowl until it combines properly. You’ll know because it becomes murky and thicker, rather than clear and split.
Dress – Add green onion, eschallots, sesame and dressing in a bowl.
CHILLI CRISP! Add 2 tablespoons of chilli crisp – or more if you dare! You want to get a mound of the crispy chilli – it will be well soaked with the red chilli oil that colours this salad. You can always add more after you toss. Taste and add, taste and add!
Toss well until the eschalots become floppy. Then pile up high into a shallow bowl and serve!
Eat with spoon
You’ll find that the longer this salad sits around, the more water is drawn out of the cucumbers. So a few hours after making / the next day, it looks like the above.
So, my unusual eating advice for this salad is as follows:
Freshly made – The dressing is more intense flavoured and coats / gets stuck in the cucumber crevices better, less/little pooled on plate. Serve and eat with fork.
After few hours / next day – Dressing is diluted from extra water drawn out of the cucumbers. It’s not watery and flavourless, but it’s not as intense as when freshly made. So eat with a spoon like soup to get plenty of dressing in each mouthful. It’s so good!
Enjoy! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 4 cucumbers (~20cm/8", scale up/down for shorter/longer, Note 1)
- 3/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt
- 1 eschalot/French onion , halved then very thinly sliced (US: shallot) (Note 2)
- 1 cup green onion , green part only finely sliced (1 large, 2 small stems)
- 2 tbsp+ chilli crisp (crispy chilli oil) – Laoganma is my fave (Note 3)
- 2 tsp white seame seeds , toasted (save some for topping)
Dressing:
- 1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar (sub any clear vinegar)
- 2 tsp soy sauce , all-purpose or light (Note 4)
- 2 tsp sesame oil , toasted (ie brown, not yellow)
Instructions
Smash & salt cucumbers
- Smash – Hit cucumbers with a meat mallet, rolling pin or similar to make the sides burst open. Cut in half lengthwise then into 2.5cm/1" pieces.
- Salt 30 min – Place in a bowl, toss with salt. Set aside for 30 minutes to draw out water (Note 5). Drain/strain and discard salty water, leave cucumbers in same bowl.
Salad
- Whisk Dressing in a bowl.
- CHECK spiciness of your chilli crisp – they vary by brand. If using Laoganma, stick with recipe, else adjust to taste.
- Toss – Put green onion, eschalots, sesame seeds, dressing and chilli crisp in with the cucumbers. Toss until eschalots go floppy – ~30 seconds.
- Serve, sprinkled with extra sesame seeds and dollops of chilli crisp if you dare!
- Note: Water continues to come out of cucumbers so after few hours/next day, you'll have a lot more dressing but not as intense flavoured. So eat/serve with spoon to get plenty of dressing in every bite!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Empty. Told you!
Hi
I have a allergy to chilli, do you have any recommendations for something else to create a bit of spice ?
Oh and adding 5 Stars to my comments for this recipe!
I ordered your chili crisp, but couldn’t wait to try this dish so I found a brand called Momofuko Chili Crunch at local store and it was GREAT!!! I don’t like raw onions, shallots, etc. so I skipped those and added thinly sliced (long ways) snow peas and thinly sliced carrot strips. It was awesome last night! But today, I added fresh avocado, fresh mixed microgreens, and thinly sliced compari tomatoes and mixed it all up and it was EVEN MORE AWESOME for lunch today!!! THANK YOU FOR THIS GREAT RECIPE!!! (Oh, and I lOVED smashing the cucs!!!)
I made this last night, it is absolutely delicious, we couldn’t get enough! Added a spoon of sugar to the dressing which also works! That crispy chilli oil is next level! And you can get it on amazon!
I just got all the ingredients…I am looking forward to make this salat over weekend. Thank you
Love it.
Love the descriptions of this and the Chilli Crisp Noodles! I recently had a house sitter, who left half a jar of Spicy Chili Crisp–its your Laoganma brand, in Canada–hope it’s the same thing!! I also have been looking for cucumber recipes, as my abundant cukes are starting to ripen. So this post is perfect timing, and I can hardly wait to try both recipes 🙂 Thanks, Nagi!
ps, waiting to see what Dozer does next ….
ooh PERFECT! What a house sitter, leaving such excellent food remnants 🙂 N x
Quick, and excellent. What a great twist for cucumbers! delicious
Wow, you made it already!! Amazing – so glad you enjoyed it Lorna! N x
The Spicy Asian cucumber salad is out of bounds!!!
YES IT IS! 🙂 N x
It is wonderful as far as me and the wife are concerned! I don’t think “Kim” did the recipe up right, perhaps? But, each to their own opinion, Again, we think it’s great!
Aww thanks Malcolm!! You know, I always say life would be boring if we all had the same taste 🙂 N x
Sadly it’s a miss on this one, I’m with Dozer on the cucumber front. Not enough chilli oil/crisp to make this appealing and ive been knoeat eat chili oil straightfrom the jar with the fridge open. Sorry
I do too Kim!!! Ha ha! N x
That looks great i love cucumbers i will try and make it i hope my family will love it to thank you have a great night
Hope you get a chance to give this a go Mylene! N x
Nagi, I have an excess of zucchini. Any reason why they wouldn’t work in place of cucumber? I like raw zucchini and the dressing would take away that full zucchini taste. I think it would work???
Hi Sue! I think zucchini lacks the juiciness to make it work in the smashed / cut up form here. What I’d probably do instead is make zucchini ribbons using a potato peeler (peel lengthwise down) or very thin slices then toss in this dressing (no salting or bashing). YUM. (Here’s a recipe where I did that for a side dish -> https://www.recipetineats.com/italian-dressing-chicken-marinade/ https://www.recipetineats.com/crispy-couscous-pancake-tomato-onion/) – N x
Thanks for your reply, Nagi. Being someone that can eat straight chilli also, I will try this dish as you suggested, peeling the zucchini and tossing in the dressing. Yum! 😋
So want to make this, as we’re addicted to cucumbers. Cannot locate the necessary crisp chilli product. Would you believe Woolies website informs me there’s NO store where I live.? Strange. I’ve shopped there for over a decade.
Hmm! Maybe the website is down?? here it is on the Woolies website -> https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/857199/lao-gan-ma-chilli-paste-crispy-peanut
Do you have a Chinese store near you? They will almost guaranteed sell this (it’s a total pantry staple in China). Or just try Amazon, they usually have a few sellers doing it.
Thanks Joe, I live in semi-rural area of Tas…BUT think there’s an Asian store short drive away. Will zip there tomorrow with fingers crossed 🤞 C
Nagi, Joe the Asian store had it on their shelves, $4.70. Always pay more in Tassie. So appreciate your advice. Cucumber will accompany tuna/anchovy pasta for dinner. All smiles here.
Hey Joe! Thanks for helping Cimmie out 🙂 Cimmie – here’s the link on Amazon US but I am not sure the right price will display because I’m searching from Australia 🙂 It is $4 a jar at normal grocery stores here in Australia and cheaper at Asian stores. A little goes a long way! N x
https://tinyurl.com/muu2vh6u
Make your own, cheap and easy to make
Hi Naji, I just love Chilli Crisp, and like you can eat it out of the jar, too bad about the next day if I smell of garlic. I love smashed cucumber salads, a totally different aspect to eating a cucumber. Possibly a vegetable people don’t use enough, although I think we do.
I eat SO MUCH cucumber! It’s probably my favourite vegetable. Or maybe just my most eaten because I can munch it on the run! 🙂 N x
Is it very hot/spicy? I can handle mild but not hot. I want to try it but not if it will set my mouth on fire.
Hi Suzanne! If I’m using a brand I’ve never used before I always have a taste. You can start with a small amount, toss, then keep adding until it’s as spicy as you can handle. If you are concerned, make the ginger dressing version instead which I have linked at the top of the recipe card – N x
Hi Nagi,
Nutrition appears incomplete.
cheers
Dennis
Thanks Dennis! Just fixed – it’s a neat 100 cal for a serving. Brilliant! N x
Looks good, I’ll make sure to try it when summer rolls around.
Not generally a fan of cukes, but the Lebanese are the only ones I don’t burp and retaste for hours after having them, lol
NOT pleasant you poor thing!
Hi Nagi, the nutrition information seems to be missing?
updated! It’s a perfect 100 cal per serving, 4 servings. It’s really low because there’s so little fat in it compared to normal dressings, thanks to all that flavour and dressing chunkiness coming from the chilli! N x
YIKES sorry, onto it! N x
Just ordered the chilli crisp arriving before 10.00pm so fingers crossed as this sounds right up my street.
Hope you love it Jane!! N x
Well Nagi I certainly did and made all the better by my own home grown cucumbers 🥰
This looks good deffo try this one. Ive got chilli crisp from your last recipe.
PERFECT!! Hope you love it John! N x