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Home > Side Dish > Chinese Smashed Cucumber Salad

Chinese Smashed Cucumber Salad

Modified: Jul 16, 2024 · Published: Mar 23, 2023

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spicy cucumber salad with text

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!

If you are in the mood for a light snack, try this creamy, light, refreshing cucumber cream cheese sandwich.

smashed cucumber salad
Jump to:
  • Why you’ll love this recipe?
  • Ingredients
  • Why do you smash the cucumbers?
  • How to make it?
  • What to serve with smashed cucumber salad?
  • Tips for success
  • Common questions
  • 📋Chinese Smashed Cucumber Salad
  • Recipe Notes

Why you’ll love this recipe?

  1. 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.
  2. It’s got amazing texture as well.
  3. The flavorful dressing makes this salad tasty.
  4. It is made with a handful of ingredients.

Ingredients

all ingredients for smashed cucumber salad
  • Cucumber – select cucumber with tender seeds. Persian cucumber, English cucumber, or Japanese cucumber work 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 can access Chinese cooking wine best use it. Rice vinegar is a great substitute for Chinese cooking wine.
  • Light soy sauce – I highly recommend you use light soy sauce. Dark soy sauce will make the salad dark.
  • 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.

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.

dressing for cucumber salad

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.

smashing cucumbers

Make sure to smash along the entire length of the cucumber. Then chop cucumbers roughly into ½-inch thick slices.

smashing cucumbers

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.

salting smashed cucumber

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.

picture collage of making cucumber salad

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

  1. Tender seeds. Select cucumber with tender seeds. Persian cucumber, English cucumber, or Japanese cucumber works best for this salad.
  2. Don’t peel. No need to peel the cucumber. The skin creates crispy and crunchy texture.
  3. 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.
  4. 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

Which cucumber should I use to make smashed cucumber salad?

Select cucumber with tender seeds. Persian cucumber, English cucumber, or Japanese cucumber works best for this salad.

Why smashing cucumbers works in 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.

Do I need to remove the skin?

No need to peel the cucumber. The skin creates crispy and crunchy texture.

Can I use pickled cucumbers for this salad?

No use only fresh cucumbers.

Do I need to salt 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.

close up view of cucumber salad

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close view of smashed cucumber salad
5 from 1 vote

📋Chinese Smashed Cucumber Salad

Jyothi Rajesh
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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Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Chill Time 15 minutes mins
Course Salad, Side Dish, side salad
Cuisine Asian, Chinese
Servings 4 servings
Calories 76

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

Nutritional Info – Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided is only a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.

Nutrition

Calories: 76kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 2gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 692mgPotassium: 210mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 245IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 37mgIron: 1mg
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Recipe Notes

  1. Tender seeds. Select cucumber with tender seeds. Persian cucumber, English cucumber, or Japanese cucumber works best for this salad.
  2. Don’t peel. No need to peel the cucumber. The skin creates crispy and crunchy texture.
  3. 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.
  4. 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

Thank you for stopping by.

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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Jyothi - Author of Curry Trail.

Welcome, I'm Jyothi

My food philosophy is simple, fresh and full of flavors! I love ‘spicy’ food. In fact so much so that I can skip dessert for extra spicy savory food!

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