This Japanese cucumber salad is a delightfully refreshing summer salad that's salty, acidic, sweet, and crispy.
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What is Sunomono Salad?
Sunomono Salad is a Japanese cucumber salad. It's made of thinly sliced cucumbers seasoned with a tangy, yet sweet dressing. It's served as a side dish and pairs well with oiler foods, like grilled mackerel fish, or lighter fare including sushi.
Ingredients to Make Japanese Cucumber Salad
- Japanese/Persian cucumbers (or English - easier to find)
- Salt (for preparing the salad)
- Dressing: Unseasoned rice vinegar, soy sauce, salt, sugar
- Toasted white sesame seeds
What Type of Cucumber Do I Need?
Japanese or Persian cucumbers are the best because they have very thin skin, making the salad as delicate and yet crispy as possible.
These varieties of cucumber aren't always easy to find depending on where you live, so regular seedless English cucumbers will also be a fine substitute. If using English cucumbers, peel the skin off in stripes to remove the thicker skin while keeping some so the stripes look pretty!
Top Tips to Make Japanese Cucumber Salad
- Slice the cucumber with a VERY sharp knife to create the thinnest, crispiest slices. A dull blade with result in thick, uneven slices. If you have a mandolin, I highly recommend using that to slice the cucumber instead fo a knife (which is more tedious).
- Slice cucumber in unfirm thickness. Biting into a randomly thick cucumber slice takes away from the experience.
- Salt the cucumbers before adding the dressing. Salting removes excess water, resulting in a crispier texture.
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Recipe for Sunomono Salad (Japanese Cucumber Salad)(酢の物)
Sunomono Salad (Japanese Cucumber Salad)(酢の物)
Ingredients
- 2 large Japanese/Persion cucumbers or seedless English cucumber
- 2 teaspoon salt to remove excess moisture
- green onion optional garnish
Dressing
- 3 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon white toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
Peel and Slice Cucumber
- Using a vegetable peeler, peel off cucumber skin in "stripes". Then, THINLY slice cucumber into unfiorm slices. Place in a large bowl.
Salt the Cucumber
- Sprinkle salt over the cucumber slices and toss. Let sit for 10 minutes. Make the dressing while waiting. After 10 minutes, gently squeeze out all the liquid that got drawn out by the salt. No need to rinse the cucumber.
Make Dressing and Assemble
- Mix all dressing ingredients in a small bowl, ensuring the salt and sugar are completley dissolved. Mix dressing with cucumber and toss well. Serve chilled with thinly sliced green onion as garnish.
