Chinese Cucumber Salad (拍黄瓜, pai huang gua) is a light and refreshing appetizer. The crisp cucumber is mixed with plenty of garlic, drizzled with an appetizing blend of soy sauce, vinegar and sugar, then finished with a few drops of sesame oil. The sauce is light, yet it has a distinct sour flavor with a hint of sweetness, enhanced by the strong aroma of garlic.
The cucumber salad is a dish I’ve been eating since childhood. It’s one of those easy dinner rotation dishes that my mom makes all the time, especially when it’s hot and humid outside and she doesn’t want to turn on the stove to cook stir fry.
This cucumber salad only takes 5 minutes to prepare. It’s refreshing and tasty. The salad goes very well with pretty much any Chinese dish. Stir-fry, braised meats, noodles, and deep-fried goodies. You name it! It even goes very well with some Western-style food, such as bread and cheese. I consider it one of the easiest side dishes to make on a busy weekday, to add color and nutrition to your dinner table.
The secret to making the best cucumber salad
1. Use English cucumbers
English cucumbers have a thinner skin and crispier texture. They work so much better in this salad than the dark-skinned American cucumbers. The smaller cucumbers (usually for making Japanese dishes and/or pickling) also work well.
I didn’t peel the cucumber skin, in order to give the dish a nice color. Plus, the skin adds more fiber to the meal. If the cucumber is fresh, the skin shouldn’t be too chewy or dry. You could choose to only remove the tough skin at the lower end of the cucumber. However, if you don’t like the skin, feel free to peel and discard it.
If you use the American cucumber that has waxy and thick skin, do peel the skin before making the salad.
2. Smash the cucumber before cutting
The secret to making delicious cucumber salad is to give the cucumber a coarse texture so it holds more sauce. Instead of chopping the cucumber, smash it with a cleaver first. Then tilt the cleaver to cut the cucumber into diamond-shaped pieces. This method will increase the surface area of the cucumber and create nooks and crannies, allowing it to absorb more sauce. If you do not own a cleaver, a meat pounder works just as well.
3. Use Chinkiang vinegar
Chinkiang vinegar (Zhenjiang vinegar, 镇江香醋) is a type of Chinese black vinegar. It is made from various grains and is aged until the color turns dark brown or inky black. It has a rich, pungent, and tart flavor, sometimes with a hint of sweetness. It has a fermented malty taste and woody character that distinguishes it from the light-colored and fruity rice vinegar.
It’s a key ingredient in this recipe that gives the sauce an extra tangy and rich taste.
4. A bit of chili oil goes a long way
I love to drizzle a bit of homemade chili oil onto my cucumber salad. It adds a nice smoky aroma to the dish and really enhances its taste.
If you happen to have a jar of Lao Gan Ma Chili Crisp, that’s even better! It is a famous (and extremely popular) Chinese brand that sells their chili oil that’s filled with crispy onion, chili peppers, and garlic. It’s not the healthiest ingredient, but it will make your salad addictively tasty. If you’re hosting a dinner party, serve the cucumber salad with some Lao Gan Ma Chili Crisp. Your side dish might be gone faster than your main dish!
More easy delicious Chinese veggie recipes
- Steamed Eggplant in Nutty Sauce
- Stir-Fried Pea Shoots with Garlic
- Spinach and Peanut Salad
- Traditional Chinese potato salad
- Stir-Fried Water Spinach – Two Ways
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with.
Easy Chinese Cucumber Salad (拍黄瓜)
Ingredients
- 1 English cucumbers (about 11 oz./300 g) , tough skin removed
- 3 cloves garlic , crushed and minced
- 1 tablespoon Chinkiang vinegar (or rice vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce (or soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons Homemade chili oil (or store-bought chili oil), or to taste (Optional)
- 1 tablespoon Lao Gan Ma Chili Crisp , or to taste (Optional)
Instructions
- Dry the cucumber with a paper towel. Place the cucumber on a large cutting board and carefully use a cleaver to crush it. If you don't own a cleaver, a meat pounder will work as well. Then cut it into bite-size pieces and place them into a bowl.
- Add the garlic on top of the cucumber.
- Combine the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, salt and sesame oil in a small bowl and mix well.
- Right before serving, pour the sauce mixture over the cucumber and mix well. (Do not add the sauce beforehand. It will cause the cucumber to lose water, and the sauce will be diluted.
- (Optional) To give the salad an extra kick, you can drizzle some chili oil or add a spoonful of chili crisp. It makes the dish addictively good.
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Nutrition
The recipe was published by Mar 15, 2014 and updated on Sep 1, 2019.
Very good recipe. I’m making one alteration to the recipe. I’m multiplying the sauce ingredients by 8 so I can have a pint jar of this dressing on hand all the time.
Just made it, it is great!
Simple and delicious – it tastes just like the dish my mom made growing up. Thanks for making this so accessible!
So easy and so good! Will be making again
I have not eaten such a delicious salade for a long time
Yum this came out exactly how I remembered it in Chinese restaurants from when I grew up in Queens, NY. I live in jersey shore area now and not many good Asian places. Thanks so much, this totally hit the spot!
Just made it! Very easy and yummy. First recipe from your website. I’ll let you know later if my boyfriend (Taiwanese) approves.
I always order this dish in a local Chinese restaurant and I have wondered how to make it for a while. I agree it goes well with everything and is a great balance to spicier or richer dishes as it is so refreshing. It is always hot and humid here in Jakarta!
Best wishes
James
We love this recipe so much. It tastes just like our local noodle restaurant’s but I can make as much as I want! We are having it tonight with your Hiananese chicken and rice. CAN’T WAIT!
This recipe is so tasty. I used garlic chili oil instead of adding garlic separately. The liquid was so good that I hated to waste it, so I ended up pouring the leftover liquid over rice. I think the liquid would make a good sauce for a Chinese stir fry dish actually.
Make, eat, repeat!!! Done it many times, very easy and tasty
Yikes. I followed the recipe but it just seems way too salty. I’m omitting the salt next time. Soy sauce is already salty enough. Also felt like way too much dressing for 1 cucumber. Going to do the same amount for 3 cucumbers next time.
Great recipe, I salt and drain water from the cucumbers first, then the sauce over them is absolutely gorgeous, thank you
Yet another excuse to use chili crisp. My wife is from Wuxi and she makes a cucumber salad similar but we never put chili crisp in it though she and I eat it like an addiction. We’ll have to try it next time and make it with your dressing, its sounds delicious.
Great quick and easy recipe.
I love this recipe so much, I could eat an entire bowl of it myself!
Very easy and good. I love cooking your recipes1
I was turning to this recipe every other week in lockdown here in Shanghai. The government was sending us cucumbers and garlic often, and I made this every time! Now that lockdown is over, I made sure to go out and buy some lao gan ma to add to it when I make it again. 🙂
Wow I’m so happy to hear the recipe helped during the lockdown. Yes to lao gan ma! I think it really makes everything tastes better 🙂
Love cucumber salad! Would a few drops of Sriracha Sauce work for the added heat?
Yes you can!
This was so delicious! I will be making again and again