Chinese smashed cucumber salad

One of the first dishes I ever learned from my dad was Chinese smashed cucumber salad! It’s made of crunchy, refreshing cucumbers tossed in a garlicky, balanced sauce, and it’s my go-to summer side dish.

The sauce is a mix of soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, chili oil, and sesame oil — a delicious blend of salty, sour, sweet, spicy, and nutty.

It’s the attention to detail that makes this dish amazing, so keep reading to get my best tips!

What kind of cucumbers should I use for Chinese smashed cucumber salad?

For Chinese smashed cucumber salad, I like using fresh Persian cucumbers. They have relatively thin skins compared to other cucumbers, a mild flavor, and they already have a natural crisp texture. Because the skins are so thin, they’re easily edible and don’t require peeling.

Also, for the best taste, it’s important to use fresh cucumbers for this recipe! You can tell a cucumber is fresh if it’s firm, and is free of blemishes, indents, and wrinkles. As a cucumber gets older, it loses water and you can begin to see if dry up and wrinkle or get a mushy texture.

If you are using a different kind of cucumber that has a thick skin, I would recommend peeling some of it for this dish.

Why do we smash the cucumbers?

When I first watched my dad prepare this dish years ago, I thought the step of smashing the cucumbers looked completely unnecessary. Did it really make a big difference in the cucumbers?

And the answer is YES! Smashing the cucumbers is a traditional technique in Chinese cuisine. The rough edges that develop from the smashing of the cucumbers create nooks and crannies for the sauce to stick to, which makes each bite packed with flavor.

After the cucumbers are lightly smashed, slice them into ~2 inch pieces at a 45 degree angle to get bite-sized pieces.

How do we make the cucumbers extra crunchy and refreshing?

This is another extra attention to detail step that will help you get the best Chinese smashed cucumber salad. To get the cucumbers extra crunchy, we like to add salt and sugar to the smashed cucumbers. These will season the cucumbers, as well as draw out any excess moisture from the cucumbers. Less moisture means more crunch!

To make them extra refreshing (cold), I like to store the seasoned and smashed cucumbers in the fridge while I prep the other ingredients. I like to do this for at least 20 minutes, but you can also do it for longer if you are prepping this ahead of time.

After you take it out from the fridge, make sure to drain the cucumbers before mixing it with the sauce.

You may also like these other Chinese veggie recipes:

• Garlic Chive Scrambled Eggs
• Din Tai Fung Garlic Green Beans
• Stir Fry Sweet Potato Leaves

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Chinese Smashed Cucumber Salad

Refreshing, crunchy cucumbers marinated in a garlicky, savory sauce make the best side dish for summertime or year round! The Chinese technique for smashing the cucumbers creates rough, ragged edges that make the sauce easily stick onto the cucumbers for the most flavor-packed bites.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutesmins

Total Time 20 minutesmins

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine Asian, Chinese

Servings 4

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• 6large Persian cucumbers
• 1/4tspsugar
• 1/8tspsalt

Sauce:

• 3clovesgarlicminced
• 1tbspsoy sauce
• 2-3tbsprice vinegarto your sourness preference
• 2tspsugar
• 2tspchili oiloptional
• 1tsptoasted sesame oil
• tiny sprinkle of salt

Garnish:

• toasted sesame seeds
• cilantro
• 1/4cupraw or roasted peanutsoptional

Instructions

Prepare the cucumbers

• Wash and slice the ends off the Persian cucumbers.
  6 large Persian cucumbers
• With the side of your knife, lightly smash each cucumber a few times until they break open. With your knife at a 45 degree angle, slice the cucumbers into ~2 inch pieces. The ragged edges from smashing them allow the cucumbers to hold on to the sauce well.
• Place the sliced cucumbers into a bowl, then season with salt and sugar. Mix evenly to coat all the slices. This will both season and draw out moisture from the cucumbers, making them extra crunchy.
  1/8 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp sugar
• Place them into your fridge while you prepare everything else to keep them extra cold and refreshing.

Make the roasted peanuts (optional)

• If you’re using raw peanuts (instead of store-bought), add them in a pan over low-medium heat with 1 tsp neutral oil and a sprinkle of salt, moving occasionally. The peanuts are done when they turn from a pale brown to a toasty, darker color, or about 5-8 minutes. Let cool.
  1/4 cup raw or roasted peanuts

Make the sauce and assemble

• Mince the garlic.
  3 cloves garlic
• In a bowl, mix together all the sauce ingredients. Taste and adjust to your preference; this is also important because different brands of rice vinegar will sometimes vary in level of sourness. There should be a good balance of salty, acidic, sweet, spicy, and nutty flavors (from sesame oil). I prefer mine on the sour side so I like the extra tbsp of rice vinegar!
  3 cloves garlic, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 2-3 tbsp rice vinegar, 2 tsp sugar, 2 tsp chili oil, 1 tsp toasted sesame oil, tiny sprinkle of salt
• After 20 min in the fridge (you can also leave it longer if prepping ahead of time), drain the liquid from the cucumbers.
• Just before serving, add the sauce, chopped cilantro, sesame seeds, and roasted peanuts (if using).
  toasted sesame seeds, cilantro

Storage

• If you have any leftover, I recommend separately storing the sauce and the cucumbers in the fridge. This is because the cucumbers will continuing drawing out moisture which will dilute the sauce.

Video

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Keyword chinese cucumber salad, chinese smashed cucumber salad

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