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By Chris Joe
5 from 5 votes
Mar 19, 2023
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This Chinese Smashed Cucumber Salad is such a great snack or side dish! I love the crunch of the cucumbers and they’re marinated in a light dressing made from garlic, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil!
This cucumber salad is a perfect dish to make in less than 10 minutes and can easily be made 2-3 days in advance to enjoy throughout the week! Personally, I also enjoy this recipe because it’s fun to smash some cucumbers for a bit of additional stress relief 🙂
Check out the Chinese Smashed Cucumber Salad recipe video below!
What Type of Cucumber Should You Use?
For this recipe, I recommend using either Persian or English cucumbers for a few reasons:
- They are seedless. I personally do not like seeds in my cucumber salads and try to remove them when possible.
- Persian and English cucumbers are typically sweeter and contain less water than regular cucumbers. This will result in a more crisp salad when marinated in the dressing!
You can find either of these types of cucumbers in your local market and they should be readily available. If for some reason you can’t find either of these types of cucumbers, regular cucumbers will work as well.
Prepare Your Cucumbers
Begin preparing your cucumbers by slicing them into 1.5″ pieces. To prevent the cucumbers from being too watery, I like to scrape out some of the inner seeds and flesh of the cucumber and discard. Once the cucumbers are prepared, you’re ready to make your dressing!
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make the Chinese Smashed Cucumber Salad Dressing
Luckily, you won’t need many ingredients to create this incredible dressing for this delicious cucumber salad! These are probably items you already have in your pantry. Here is what you’ll need for the marinade:
- Light Soy Sauce (I use reduced sodium)
- Rice Vinegar
- Sugar
- Grated Garlic
- Sesame Oil
- Grated Ginger (optional)
My Top Ingredient Tips for Chinese Smashed Cucumber Salad
INGREDIENTS TIPS
CUCUMBER
I used Persian cucumbers in this recipe but you can also use English cucumbers! I typically use them interchangeably in recipes because they are both thin skinned (so no need to peel) and have very few seeds.
INGREDIENT SUBS
Because this recipe has so few ingredients, I don’t recommend you sub any of them – sorry!
GINGER IS OPTIONAL!
I like to add grated ginger for a little extra kick but if you are sensitive to spice, you can leave it out.
My Key Recipe Tips for Chinese Smashed Cucumber Salad
RECIPE TIPS
DRY YOUR CUCUMBERS
After washing your cucumbers, wipe them down to remove any excess water and prevent from watering down the salad. The cucumbers are already high in water content, so we want to avoid any more water!
REMOVE THE INSIDE FLESH
On the same note of preventing too much water, I like to scoop out some of the inside flesh. I use my finger but you can use a spoon!
STORAGE
I have kept these in an airtight container for up to one week in the refrigerator!
OPTIONAL GINGER
The grated ginger is optional but I like the extra kick from it! Leave it out if you prefer 🙂
If you liked this Chinese Smashed Cucumber Salad recipe, be sure to check out my other salad recipes below!
- Korean Cucumber Salad
- Din Tai Fung Cucumber Salad
- Chili Garlic Cucumber Salad
5 from 5 votes
Chinese Smashed Cucumber Salad
By: Chris Joe
Servings: 4
Prep: 5 minutes mins
Cook: 10 minutes mins
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This Chinese Smashed Cucumber Salad is a classic Chinese appetizer that's sweet, savory and so refreshing!
Ingredients
- 2 lb cucumber, Persian or English
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tsp ginger, grated, optional
US Customary – Metric
Instructions
In a large bowl mix together soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, salt, garlic, ginger and sesame oil.
Cut cumbers into 1.5" pieces; carefully smash them with the large end of your knife.
Add the smashed cucumbers to the dressing and mix together. Marinate for 10 minutes. Serve!
Notes
After washing your cucumbers, wipe them down to remove any excess water and prevent from watering down the salad. The cucumbers are already high in water content, so we want to avoid any more water!
On the same note of preventing too much water, I like to scoop out some of the inside flesh. I use my finger but you can use a spoon.
The grated ginger is optional but I like the extra kick from it! Leave it out if you prefer 🙂
I have kept these in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator!
Additional Info
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Chinese
Tried this recipe?Mention @cj.eats_ or tag #cjeatsrecipes!
