Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Hacks & How-to's
  3. Evergreens

This Japanese cucumber salad recipe is the simple, elegant meal your lunch needs

By

Lunches are a great time for crisp, healthy meal selections. Heavy comfort food, while certainly warm and delicious, is not wise in the middle of the day, since it tends to leave you tired and overly full. A light, nutrient-packed lunch, however, gives you the energy and focus you need to finish off your day strong. Japanese cucumber salad, also known as “Japanese pickled cucumber salad” because of its distinct vinegar flavor, is a perfect side dish to your soup or sandwich, and it’s super easy to make.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Japanese cucumber salad recipe

With crisp Japanese cucumbers, flavorful rice wine vinegar, and crunchy sesame seeds, this cool side dish has an excellent combination of flavors and textures. This simple recipe takes minutes to make, and you’ll be grateful for the easy and nutritious addition to your lunch.

Ingredients

  • 2 Japanese cucumbers
  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
  • 1 tablespoon sugar or honey
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Slice cucumbers as thinly as possible, and then cut them in half to create half-moons.
  2. In a mixing bowl, add cucumber slices, salt, and pepper, and mix until the seasoning is evenly coated.
  3. Add in sugar or honey, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and soy sauce, and mix until all cucumbers are evenly coated.
  4. Let the cucumbers marinate for roughly 20 minutes.
  5. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top of the salad and serve chilled.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Tips for the perfect Japanese cucumber salad

Choose the right cucumber variety

While standard cucumbers are delicious and perfect for some recipes, this particular cucumber salad requires either Japanese or Persian cucumbers. These varieties are crunchier and contain a lot fewer seeds. When using regular cucumbers, you would have to remove all of the seeds, and it would still be a lot less crisp than when you use the Japanese or Persian varieties.

Toast the sesame seeds

Sesame seeds can be sprinkled on the salad raw, but toasting them gives a smoky, nutty flavor. To toast the seeds, add them to a dry skillet over low heat and stir constantly for about two minutes. Once they’re golden brown and smelling amazing, remove them from the heat and let them cool before adding them to the salad.

How to make Japanese cucumber salad ahead of time

The marinade on this salad does soften the cucumbers and makes them a bit mushy before long. If you’re planning on serving it in several hours or even the following day, simply make the marinade separately and refrain from adding the cucumbers to it until roughly 20 minutes prior to serving.

How to make Japanese cucumber salad spicy

If you love a little spice in your life, you can easily make this zesty dish a spicy one. Simply add a teaspoon of hot chili oil to the marinade, sprinkle red pepper flakes on top with the sesame seeds, or add a drizzle of sriracha before serving. Do all three for a Japanese cucumber salad that’s super hot and spicy.

Related

Add some protein and make it a meal

While great as a side dish, you can turn Japanese cucumber salad into a well-rounded and low-calorie meal by adding some protein. Mild flavored proteins like tofu or grilled chicken pair well with the salad, and they keep the calorie count low.

Lunchtime is arguably the best time of the day. You can take a load off, eat some tasty food, and reenergize for the rest of your day. Having a light, healthy lunch goes a long way in helping you feel great, and this Japanese cucumber salad is the perfect way to get some zesty nutrients in your diet.

veronicasparks18@yahoo.com
veronicasparks18@yahoo.com
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Veronica Sparks is a writer from Milwaukee, Wisconsin who loves writing about gardening, home décor, and DIY life. She’s…
Topics

Editors’ Recommendations

How to Style a Coffee Table That Feels Collected, Not Cluttered
Plant, Furniture, Table

A well styled coffee table can make your formal living room stand out and should feel intentional, considered and appropriately arranged. The goal is balance, and it should support the room rather than compete with it.

Start with a foundation. Use one or two large books to ground the arrangement. Choose books with substantial covers that reflect the palette of the room, whether neutral or tonal, and complement the space. Stack them rather than spreading them out. This creates structure and gives everything else a place to sit.

Read more
Flowers From the Garden: A Summer Centerpiece Method
Flower, Flower Arrangement, Plant

A simple, season led approach to summer florals, built on what is in bloom rather than what is in stock.

There is a particular generosity to summer that no other season offers. The garden is full and the flower markets overflow. The roadside stands begin to set out buckets of zinnias and dahlias by mid June and July. The backyard, once an afterthought, begins to feel like an extension of the home itself. The question is no longer whether to bring flowers into the house, but how often.

Read more
The Easiest Way to Set the Table
Cutlery, Fork, Spoon

Have you ever wondered why the fork sits on the left and the knife on the right? Or why Europeans eat “Continental style,” holding the fork in their left hand and the knife in their right, while Americans cut, switch hands, and then eat? It turns out there’s a reason for all of it, and once you understand the history, setting the table suddenly feels far less mysterious. Before beautifully layered place settings and Pinterest-worthy tablescapes, dining was far more practical. Medieval feasts were less about etiquette and more about survival. Plates were often shared, forks were nonexistent, and eating with your hands was the normal standard. Tables were filled with trenchers (pieces of bread used as plates), and the idea of “proper placement” simply didn’t exist.

By the mid-to-late 1800s (around 1860–1870), European dining evolved again as meals began to be served in courses. This shift introduced what became known as the Russian style of dining, where utensils were laid out intentionally and used from the outside in. The fork stayed in the left hand, the knife in the right, and the table itself began to reflect structure, rhythm, and order. This approach eventually became the “Continental style” still used across much of Europe today.

Read more