Japanese Cucumber Salad (Sunomono) is a crunchy salad that makes a refreshing side dish to Asian recipes, sandwiches, burgers, etc. These healthy sweet and sour pickled cucumbers are packed with flavor.
My obsession to recreate the perfect Japanese cucumber salad started with our latest curry take out dinner. Along with my miso glazed salmon they sent along a crisp cucumber side salad. It looked so beautifully fresh and clean I downed the whole thing before we even unpacked our dinner (my husband hates when I do that.)
But here’s the thing: this salad is a masterful combination of refreshing cukes plus that zingy Asian combo of soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame and chile that’s too good to ignore. Oh, and the crushed peanuts ~ gah!
Sunomono (soon-oh-MONO)
It refers to a style of raw vinegar marinated dishes in Japanese cuisine that are served as sides or appetizers. They can range from veggies to seafood. The sweet ~ sour ~ crunchy effect is super refreshing and enhances the appetite. Try it with your next sandwich or burger, you’ll fall in love like I did.
shopping list for Japanese cucumber salad
- Slender thin skinned cucumbers
- aka pickling, Persian, Kirby, Lebanese, English. These types of cucumbers have thin skins that aren’t bitter, and fewer seeds than the common garden cuke ~ perfect for this salad.
- roasted peanuts
- you can also use toasted sesame seeds.
- soy sauce
- I love tamari style soy sauce which is a little richer, with a less sharp and salty bite to it. It’s also gluten free.
- rice wine vinegar
- rice vinegar is milder than other vinegars, and I recommend it for Japanese cucumber salad. You can also use cider vinegar.
- fresh garlic
- chili oil
- sesame oil
- this is one of my favorite oils, the flavor is insane!
- sugar
- a tiny bit of sugar brings all the flavors together.
- red pepper flakes
- cilantro
- cilantro haters leave it out.
prepping cucumbers is easy and fun
- Don’t peel them, the skin is thin and delicious, and gives the cucumbers structure. If you like you can partially peel them by running a zesting tool down the sides. My mom used to scrape the sides with the tines of a fork. It makes a decorative edging.
- Slice them on a diagonal, which is not only pretty, but exposes more flesh to the dressing.
- Slice them up to an hour before serving. I don’t advise doing this very far in advance because cukes release water and become less crisp after being cut.
do you drain the cucumbers for cucumber salad?
I don’t, but you can if you like. Draining can help remove some of the excess moisture, resulting in a crispier texture in the final salad.
The simplest way to do this is to arrange the sliced cucumbers on a thick layer of paper towels and allow some of the excess moisture to drain before adding to your salad.
my favorite Japanese dressing
The dressing is a star of any Japanese cucumber salad, it’s simple, but so flavorful. It’s a great idea to make up a jar of it for the fridge to have cucumber salad on demand for a week or more. Use it on regular green salad as well.
- Mix equal parts soy sauce with rice wine vinegar for the base, it’s essentially a simple pickling brine.
- Add other ingredients to taste like chile oil, red pepper flakes, toasted sesame oil, and a pinch of sugar.
There’s room for variation here, but start with the basic ingredients to experience the classic flavor.
cucumber salad faqs
- Can you make a cucumber salad ahead of time? I don’t recommend making this more than a few hours ahead, the cukes will be at their crunchiest then. You will still enjoy the leftovers the next day, but the salad is best the same day.
- Is cucumber salad healthy? Yes, it’s low in calories and fat, full of fiber, and hydrating. Soy sauce is high in sodium so be aware of that if you’re watching your salt intake.
- I’m allergic to allergic to peanuts, what else can I use? Use sesame seeds instead, black or white will work.
- Can you use regular cucumbers for this salad? Smaller cucumbers are best but larger ones can be used. I suggest using a small spoon to scoop out the center seeds before slicing. And with regular cukes you’ll want to peel or partially peel the tough skins.
- What can you add? How about some shredded seaweed (wakame), or pickled ginger. Add tiny shrimp, crabmeat, or even canned tuna to make it a delicious lunch.
- What goes well with Japanese cucumber salad? In Japanese cuisine salads like this are served with just about everything. It’s wonderful with any kind of curry, or fried rice, or stir fry dish. I use it just like I would coleslaw or a side salad with sandwiches, burgers, grilled chicken and steak, etc.
More Japanese inspired recipes to explore
- Miso Glazed Salmon
- Japanese Carrot Ginger Dressing
- Japanese Chicken Katsu Curry Bowl
- Japanese ochazuke with fried rice cakes and salmon
- Japanese Pork Dumplings
- Teriyaki Chicken with Broccoli Rice
- Edamame Salad
- Easy Miso Soup
- Grilled Shishito Peppers
Japanese Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
dressing
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp chile oil
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
salad
- 12 ounces small cucumbers
- 1/3 cup roasted peanuts
- fresh cilantro leaves
- red chile flakes to taste
Instructions
- Whisk the dressing ingredients together and be sure to taste it to adjust anything you like.
- Finely grind the peanuts in a food processor using the pulsing button. You want them to be very fine but be careful not to go too far and turn them into peanut butter! Alternatively you can use a rolling pin to crush the peanuts: just place them in a zip lock baggie and pound or roll over them.
- Thinly slice the cucumbers on the diagonal. If you would like to remove part of the peel first, you can run a zesting tool down the sides, or simply run the tines of a fork down the sides to create a decorative edge.
- Put the cucumbers in a bowl and toss with enough dressing to coat thoroughly, you may not need all of it. Toss with the crushed peanuts, sprinkle with chile flakes,and top with cilantro leaves. Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve. I like to serve this within a few hours of making, but it will keep overnight.
Video
Notes
- Don’t peel them, the skin is thin and delicious, and gives the cucumbers structure. If you like you can partially peel them by running a zesting tool down the sides. My mom used to scrape the sides with the tines of a fork. It makes a decorative edging.
- Slice them on a diagonal, which is not only pretty, but exposes more flesh to the dressing.
- Slice them up to an hour before serving. I don’t advise doing this very far in advance because cukes release water and become less crisp after being cut.
Any subststitute for chile oil? This looks like a really good cucumber salad. Would probably be a hit with the fish planned for dinner tonight.
If you don’t like the heat, just leave it out. Otherwise you might use sriracha, or any type of hot sauce. Or use a few red chile flakes.
I loved this. Give it a try!!!
This scrumptious salad was devoured instantly. Such a hit.
I normally like to change recipes to my own touch, but this recipe is perfect the way it is.
You can’t just eat one cucumber slice! Addictive!
It was a hit!
This dressing is lovely. Once the summer hits and fresh vegetables come in by the bucket-full, I will be pulling this out again to see what else it goes with. I didn’t use peanuts (picky eater in the house) and used a sprinkle of red pepper instead of the pepper flakes (heat-intolerant eater in the house, too). I did slice my cucumber too thick at first – you weren’t kidding when you said “thin”! The rice wine vinegar and the rice vinegar confusion got mee, too (thank goodness for smart phones, had to do some research in the grocery aisle) and I ended up using sesame infused vinegar. Dish had no leftovers. Another win from The View From Great Island!
Did you say summer veggies? …..*sigh*
Made A double batch of this with Kirbys today and it’s delicious! We all sampled it – and went back for seconds- it’s that good! I’m worried that my crew will nibble away at this and not leave enough to use for our dinner side-dish. We’re definitely going to make this again.
Nom nom nom 🙂
Yum! I’ve made this recipe a second time without the cucumbers and used as a dressing for my nightly dinner salad! I add fresh chopped ginger and Thai basal leaves. This is a keeper in my growing cookbook!
Great idea!
Hi Sue
Wondering if you could say what the brand of rice vinegar you used as knowing from experience, using the wrong brand can oftentimes results in the finished dish/salad not tasting as it was intended to taste.
Also have never seen the wording rice wine vinegar in my Asian supermarkets here it is rice vinegar ( even though I know they are both the same thing ) I use rice vinegar quite often preferring the Kong Yen brand from Taiwan if it’s in stock as we enjoy the taste. I make sure to always have regular rice vinegar, seasoned rice vinegar, and Mirin on hand for spur of the moment recipes or recipes I receive from bloggers like you!
Thanks Sue
Rice vinegar and rice wine vinegar are the same, as far as I know Joycelyn, they’re both made from rice wine. I will buy what’s available, and usually that’s Marukan, or Kikkoman brand. My all time favorite comes from a California company called O Olive Oil, and they make a lovely rice vinegar, here. I use cider vinegar when I happen to be out of rice vinegar. Hope that helps!
Thanks Sue. I was particularly interested in your favourite being the O Yuzu rice vinegar so checked it out. Loved the sound of the touch of citrus added especially the Meyer lemon, so sought it out with a local kitchenware and imported food warehouse store that imports food from around the world as I was pretty sure I’d find it there.
It was listed on their site although $5 more (CD and USD difference thing ) but they’re out of stock at the moment due to coronavirus causing delays in stock/orders arriving in a timely manner so can’t say when it will be available again. In the meantime I’ll use the unseasoned rice vinegar I have on hand which should suffice.
Thanks again for taking the time to respond, Sue.
Stay well
For the rice vinegar is it the seasoned or unseasoned? Seasoned is a little sweeter I think and the recipe has some sugar and wouldn’t want it too sweet.Thanks.
I use unseasoned, regular rice vinegar.