This crunchy sweet and sour Chinese Cucumber Salad with a hint of spiciness is a perfect side dish to increase your appetite.

Many of you may have tried the signature Chinese cucumber salad from Din Tai Fung, which is popular for its “light and refreshing” taste “with a hint of spice“.

Crisp Persian cucumbers combined with cuts of mild fresno chili peppers and sliced, fresh garlic—all tossed together with drizzles of sesame oil and our signature Din Tai Fung chili oil.

I like Din Tai Fung’s food overall, but not their cucumber salad.

A cucumber salad should be one of the most representative refreshing dish. Din Tai Fung’s cucumber salad, however, is coated with a thick layer of sesame oil and chili oil, who masks the natural refreshing cucumber aroma.

Therefore, in my cucumber salad recipe, I recommend using dried chili pepper instead of chili oil, so that we can make this dish less oily and as refreshing as possible. 

How to cut a cucumber for Chinese cucumber salad

To make the most authentic and traditional Chinese cucumber salad, you need to cut the cucumber into a coir raincoat (蓑衣) shape.

What? The sliced cucumber doesn’t look like a raincoat to you?

That’s because “the earliest forms of Chinese raincoats were made of straw”, and they look like this:

Cutting a cucumber into this particular shape not only makes this dish look fancier, but also increases the surface of the cucumber, so that it can soak up more sauce and become more flavorful.

Looks difficult? ╮(✧ఠ 。ఠ)╭

The trick is to use some chopsticks! They can keep you from cutting through the cucumber. Just use the free chopsticks you get from your last Chinese take-out order, if you worry you will ruin your nice chopsticks.

The cutting will create endless surfaces that will absorb extra flavor from the sauce and enrich the cucumber!

Tips for cutting the cucumber into the authentic “raincoat” shape:

1. Peel off a lengthwise strip of one side of the cucumber, turn it upside down, then peel off a lengthwise strip of the other side. In this way we have created a flat bottom on both side, which makes it easier and safer to cut slices.

2. Place the cucumber on a cutting board, with one peeled surface facing down and the other peeled surface facing up. Place one chopstick on each side of the cucumber lengthwise.

3. Cut the cucumber into 2mm thick slices (a quarter dollar is 1.75 mm thick) from one end to the other, cutting down to the chopstick so that you do not cut through the cucumber.

4. Turn the cucumber upside down. Slice the cucumber with a 45° angle to the center line, cut the cucumber into 2mm thick slices from one end to the other without cutting it through (with the help of chopsticks.)

Give it a try~ It’s not that hard!

Marinate the Chinese cucumber salad

After you successfully cut the cucumber into a masterpiece raincoat shape, marinate it with 3 tbsps of sugar for at least 1 hour to let the juice out.

Most of the recipes online would tell you to marinate the cucumber with salt instead of sugar. While, my dad always uses sugar for this dish, and I have tried both methods and personally definitely prefer the taste of sugar-marinated cucumber.

If you would like to try the salt-marinating method, you can substitute the sugar in my recipe with 1 tsp of salt. And remember to rinse the cucumber thoroughly with cold water after the salt-marinating step. 

Sweet, sour, and mildly spicy sauce

If you decide to follow my recipe and use the sugar-marinating method, you don’t need to rinse the cucumber after marinating. Simply drain the sweet cucumber juice, and add the other seasonings (1 tbsp chopped garlic, 1/2 tsp dried chili pepper, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 4 tbsp rice vinegar, 1/2 tbspsesame oil, and 1/4 tspsalt ) to the cucumber after marinating.

Mix well the sauce, cover with food wrap, and let sit in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes (ideally overnight) before enjoy.

And don’t forget to make yourself a refreshing cucumber drink with the leftover cucumber juice!

Just soak the sugar-pickled cucumber into your favorite glass with ice cubes and sparking water, or even mix with some alcohol to make it a refreshing cocktail! Here is a Tom Collins cocktail recipe that uses cucumber that looks refreshing.

How to Make Chinese Cucumber Salad

Equipment

• 2 chopsticks
• Measuring spoons

Ingredients

• 1 large cucumber (or 4-6 mini cucumbers)
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 2 garlic cloves (chopped) (about 1 tbsp of chopped garlic)
• ½ tsp dried chili pepper (break into small pieces) (Can use red pepper flakes or chili oil as a substitute. Skip if you don’t like spicy food.)
• 2 tbsps light soy sauce
• 4 tbsps rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
• ½ tbsp sesame oil
• ¼ tsp salt

Chinese Cucumber Salad

Ms Shi & Mr He

This crunchy sweet and sour Chinese Cucumber Salad with a hint of spiciness is a perfect side dish to increase your appetite. And don't forget to make yourself a refreshing cucumber drink with the leftover cucumber juice!

5 from 6 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Marinating Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine Chinese

Servings 2 people

Calories 80 kcal

Equipment

• 2 Chopsticks

Ingredients

  

• 1 large cucumber (or 4-6 mini cucumbers)
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 2 garlic cloves (chopped) (about 1 tbsp of chopped garlic)
• ½ tsp dried chili pepper (break into small pieces) (Can use red pepper flakes or chili oil as a substitute. Skip if you don't like spicy food.)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 4 tbsp rice vinegar
• ½ tbsp sesame oil
• ¼ tsp salt

Instructions

 

• Rinse a cucumber and pat dry. Peel off a lengthwise strip of one side, turn the cucumber upside down, then peel off a lengthwise strip of the other side, as seen in the photo above. In this way we have created a flat bottom on both side, which makes it easier and safer to cut slices.
• Place the cucumber on a cutting board, with one peeled surface facing down and the other peeled surface facing up. Place one chopstick on each side of the cucumber lengthwise. 
• Cut the cucumber into 2mm thick slices (a quarter dollar is 1.75 mm thick) from one end to the other, cutting down to the chopstick so that you do not cut through the cucumber.
• Turn the cucumber upside down. Slice the cucumber with a 45° angle to the center line, cut the cucumber into 2mm thick slices from one end to the other without cutting it through (with the help of chopsticks.)
  
• Place sliced cucumber in a bowl. Add 3 tbsps of sugar to the cucumber. Toss or stir to coat the cucumber evenly with the sugar. Cover with food wrap. Let sit for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.
• 1 hour later, drain the cucumber juice. You can use the sweet cucumber juice to DIY a cucumber drink (see Note 1).
• Add chopped garlic, dried chili pepper, light soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and salt over the cucumber and mix well.
• Cover with food wrap. Let sit for at least 20 minutes (ideally overnight) in the refrigerator.
• Serve chilled as a side dish. Great with classic Chinese rice porridge (congee).

Video

Notes

Note 1: Draining the cucumber gives you some sweet and fresh cucumber juice. You can use the juice to flavor your water, make a sparkling cucumber drink, or DIY a cucumber cocktail. In this video, I made a quick refreshing drink with 2 tbsp of cucumber juice, a glass of ice, sparkling water, and a splash of sake (Japanese wine). 

Keyword Asian cucumber salad, Chinese cucumber salad, cucumber salad