Chinese smashed cucumber salad is a crunchy, spicy, refreshing side dish. This cucumber salad is made by bashing cucumber so they burst open and the craggy edges allow the chili oil dressing to seep into all the cracks and crevices. Makes a great summer side dish. The texture of this cucumber salad is addicting and every bit of cucumber is loaded with the flavors of the dressing!
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Smashed cucumber salad with spicy garlic-ginger-chili oil-sesame dressing
Not chopped, not sliced, SMASHED! Ever thought of smashing cucumber for a salad? It’s a classic technique used across Asia. When you bash cucumbers, they burst open with craggy edges. Roughly chop into bite-size pieces. The cracks and crannies on the bashed cucumber are perfect for allowing all the dressing to seep into it making it the most flavorful cucumber salad you ever had.
Bashing cucumber also creates an amazing texture that’s so good, you’ll be addictive to it.
Smashed cucumber salad is seasoned with a mind-blowing flavorful dressing of garlic, ginger, rice vinegar, light soy sauce, sugar, salt, sesame oil, chili oil, and toasted sesame seeds.
Cucumbers are enjoyed all year long, but they are especially great for summer! The excellent crisp taste makes a flavor-packed side dish perfect for the warm weather ahead. You’ll need only a handful of ingredients to make this Chinese smashed cucumber salad.
Ingredients
You’ll need-
- Cucumber (Persian cucumber or English cucumber)
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Rice vinegar
- Light soy sauce
- Sugar
- Salt
- Chili oil (spicy chili crisp)
- Sesame oil
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Green onion
- Cilantro
All ingredients measurements are available in the recipe card below.
- Cucumber – select cucumber with tender seeds. Persian cucumber, English cucumber, or Japanese cucumber works best for this salad.
- Garlic – very finely minced. Don’t substitute with garlic powder.
- Ginger – finely minced, don’t substitute with ginger powder.
- Rice vinegar – if you have access to Chinese cooking wine best use it. Rice vinegar is a great substitute for Chinese cooking wine.
- Light soy sauce – highly recommend you use light soy sauce as it will not change the color of the salad too much. Dark soy sauce will alter the color.
- Chili oil – also called spicy chili crisp. Homemade or store-bought can be used.
- Sugar – use white granular sugar. Used to add a touch of sweetness to smashed cucumber salad.
- Salt – used it on the cucumber to remove moisture from it.
- Green onion and cilantro – for freshness. Used as garnish.
Why do you smash the cucumbers?
When you bash cucumbers, they burst open with craggy edges. Roughly chop into bite-size pieces. The cracks and crannies on the bashed cucumber are perfect for allowing all the dressing to seep into it making it the most flavorful cucumber salad you ever had.
To make a smashed cucumber salad, select cucumbers that have tender seeds. Persian cucumbers or English cucumbers or Japanese cucumbers work best. No need to peel the cucumber, the skin creates a crispy and crunchy texture.
How to make it?
Make the dressing first. Shake or mix minced garlic, minced ginger, rice vinegar, light soy sauce, sugar, chili oil, sesame oil, and toasted sesame seeds. Set aside until use.
Wash the cucumber under tap water and wipe it dry with a kitchen towel. Trim both ends of the cucumber.
You’ll need to use something heavy like a meat mallet or a large flat knife or rolling pin or pestle to bash the cucumber. Bash it on the cutting board to bust it open. Don’t bash to a point where cucumber is mush.  You just want it to crack open.
Make sure to smash along the entire length of the cucumber. Then chop cucumbers roughly into ½-inch thick slices.
Transfer smashed and sliced cucumber to a large bowl. Lightly salt it. Toss cucumber in salt to coat uniformly. Leave it for 15 to 20 minutes. Then, drain all the water left at the bottom of the bowl.
Add dressing, green onion, and cilantro leaves. Gently toss to coat cucumber in the dressing.
Garnish with some more cilantro leaves, green onion, and toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes and serve chilled.
What to serve with smashed cucumber salad?
Chunks of cucumber with spicy-tang-sweet dressing are ideal for summer. Its refreshing, crunchy taste makes it a great side dish. You can serve it along with:
- Thai basil chicken
- Cashew chicken
- Shrimp stir fry
- General Tso chicken
- Panang curry
- Mongolian chicken
Tips for success
- Tender seeds. Select cucumber with tender seeds. Persian cucumber, English cucumber, or Japanese cucumber works best for this salad.
- Don’t peel. No need to peel the cucumber. The skin creates crispy and crunchy texture.
- Don’t chop, don’t slice, SMASH! When you bash cucumber, they burst open with craggy edges allowing all the dressing to seep into them making it the most flavorful cucumber salad.
- Chilled is better. While it’s common practice to toss salad with dressing only when ready to serve to avoid it becoming soggy, I prefer to chill smashed cucumber salad (with dressing) for 20 to 30 minutes in the refrigerator and serve it chilled. The chilled salad is wonderful with rice and an Asian stir fry dish on hot summer days.
Common questions
Select cucumber with tender seeds. Persian cucumber, English cucumber, or Japanese cucumber works best for this salad.
When you bash cucumber, they burst open with craggy edges allowing all the dressing to seep into it making it the most flavorful cucumber salad you ever had.
No need to peel the cucumber. The skin creates crispy and crunchy texture.
No use only fresh cucumbers.
It depends on your preference. It’s not mandatory to salt cucumber. Salting cucumber is done mainly to draw excess liquid. When you add a little salt to the cucumber and leave it for 10-15 minutes, the cucumber release liquid which can be discarded. You don’t have to squeeze out every drop of liquid but want to draw out most of the liquid otherwise you’ll end up with a watery salad.
MORE SIDE DISH RECIPES TO TRY
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📋Chinese Smashed Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb cucumber Persian cucumber or English cucumber
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced
- 1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 teaspoons light soy sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons chili oil spicy chili crisp
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup green onion
- 3 stalks of cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Make the dressing first. Shake or mix together minced garlic, minced ginger, rice vinegar, light soy sauce, sugar, chili oil, sesame oil, and toasted sesame seeds. Set aside until use.
- Wash the cucumber under tap water and wipe it dry with a kitchen towel. Trim both ends of the cucumber.
- You’ll need to use something heavy like a meat mallet or a large flat knife or rolling pin or pestle to bash cucumber. Bash to bust open on a cutting board. Don’t bash to a point where cucumber is mush. You just want it to crack open. Make sure to smash along the entire length of the cucumber.
- Then chop cucumbers roughly into ½-inch thick slices.
- Transfer smashed and sliced cucumber to a large bowl. Lightly salt it. Toss cucumber in salt to coat uniformly. Leave it for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Then, drain all the water left at the bottom of the bowl. Add dressing, green onion, and cilantro leaves.
- Gently toss to coat cucumber in the dressing.
- Garnish with some more cilantro leaves, green onion, and toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes and serve chilled.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Recipe Notes
- Tender seeds. Select cucumber with tender seeds. Persian cucumber, English cucumber, or Japanese cucumber works best for this salad.
- Don’t peel. No need to peel the cucumber. The skin creates crispy and crunchy texture.
- Don’t chop, don’t slice, SMASH! When you bash cucumber, they burst open with craggy edges allowing all the dressing to seep into them making it the most flavorful cucumber salad.
- Chilled is better. While it’s common practice to toss salad with dressing only when ready to serve to avoid it becoming soggy, I prefer to chill smashed cucumber salad (with dressing) for 20 to 30 minutes in the refrigerator and serve it chilled. The chilled salad is wonderful with rice and an Asian stir fry dish on hot summer days.
Created by Jyothi Rajesh
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I’m Jyothi Rajesh (Jo for short) and i’m the founder of the food blog, Curry Trail where I share my culinary Adventures. I live in Bangalore, India. I’m a mom of two beautiful kids. My passion is creating and sharing delicious and easy recipes for the home cook. I have been blogging since 2007 and many of my recipes have appeared in both online and print publications over the years. Learn more about Jyothi Rajesh.
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