It is summer time! School is out and time to make some easy quick salad recipes. I received a bunch of mini cucumbers from my grandma and they were just about to get bad. I decided to try to make some marinated cucumbers. You don’t need to cut the cucumbers like this but it really was a fun texture and worked really well with this recipe.

The hardest part of this recipe is cutting the cucumbers. I used two takeout wooden chopsticks.

First I cut off the ends of the cucumber. I sandwiched the cucumbers between the chopsticks. You will need to make perpendicular cuts along one side of the cucumber. Then flip the cucumber around and make diagonal slices. The chopsticks make sure that you are not cutting all the way through the cucumber. After doing this, you will get accordion shaped cucumbers. These should also work with larger cucumbers just make sure you aren’t cutting too deep.

You can see here that cutting the cucumber this way allows the cucumber to have a nice spiral throughout.

Place your cut cucumber into a dish. It is best if you have a single layer. Then pour in the marinade. To make the marinade mix together soya sauce, sesame oil, garlic, rice vinegar, salt and sugar.

Marinate the cucumbers for 1-2 hours. If you plan to marinade longer or overnight, the taste will be stronger but the cucumber wont be a crunchy. Both ways are tasty.

Asian Marinated Cucumber salad

• cucumbers (about 2-3 cups, if using more, make sure to make more marinade to cover the cucumber)
• 1 1/2 tbsp soya sauce
• 3 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1-2 tbsp of sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed

Mix together the marinade: soya sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, salt, sesame oil and crushed garlic.

Slice the cucumbers in accordion shape. Slice the ends off the cucumber. Sandwich the cucumber between two chopsticks. First make perpendicular slices on one side, then flip over and make diagonal slices on the other side. The chopsticks will help you not sliced completely through the cucumber.

Place the cucumbers in a dish so that the cucumbers are spread out evenly in a single layer. Pour the marinade over the cucumber and allow to sit in the fridge for 1-2 hours. You can leave longer to get a stronger flavor but the cucumber will not be as crunchy.

Enjoy this as a side dish for any meal.

For more recipes: Recipe List