Spicy Smashed Cucumber Salad
My go-to side dish no matter the season is a smashed cucumber salad. This salad complements any dinner, whether you’re serving a fresh dinner like Thai inspired lettuce wraps or even a slow-cooked curry or roast. Coming from the south, it’s often that you’ll find fresh cucumbers marinated in vinegar as a side dish throughout the year. I like to think of this spicy smashed cucumber salad recipe as a zhuzhed up version of this classic side dish.
What is smashed cucumber salad? Smashed cucumber salad is a lovely side dish where the cucumbers are prepared by smashing them with the side of a knife instead of making clean slices. The benefit of this preparation method is that all of the nooks and crannies in the cucumbers are perfect for soaking up tasty dressings.
What can you put in a cucumber salad? The sky's the limit with variations of cucumber salad! Some ideas for variations are:
Chopped sun-dried tomatoes with a balsamic vinaigrette
Roasted red peppers with feta cheese
Fresh tomatoes with red or white wine vinegar — a southern classic
Can you use anything in substitute of the jalapeños? Absolutely. Any pepper can be substituted for jalapeños depending on how spicy you want the smashed cucumber salad to be. If you don’t have any fresh peppers, red chili flakes can be substituted for them in this recipe.
Can cucumber salad be made ahead? No. I don’t recommend making cucumber salad more than 30 minutes ahead of when it will be served. This is because cucumbers are filled with water that will seep out of them the more they marinate in the dressing. To avoid a watery smashed cucumber salad, make and serve immediately.
What to serve with smashed cucumber salad? Cucumber salads go well with almost any dinner you are craving. I love to serve them with fresh dishes such as Thai inspired lettuce wraps, but I also love it as a fresh accompaniment to a slow-cooked curry or a dish with a lot of rich flavor.
What vinegar is best for a cucumber salad? Truly any vinegar you have on hand will work for a cucumber salad — apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, etc.. The reason why I choose to use rice vinegar for this recipe is that it’s a great blank canvas vinegar that provides a nice tanginess without a ton of extra flavor.
Which cucumber is best for a salad? My strong recommendation is to use persian cucumbers when making smashed cucumber salad. This is because their small size make them easy to smash, while english cucumbers or any other large cucumber is challenging to smash appropriately. Additionally, persian cucumbers have a delicate, sweet flavor that I think complements the dressing well in this smashed cucumber salad recipe.
How to make spicy smashed cucumber salad:
Spicy Smashed Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup of finely chopped cilantro
- 3 large Persian cucumbers
- ½ of a large jalapeño
- 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
- 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Instructions
- Finely chop the fresh cilantro until you have ½ cup of herbs to go into the salad. Place the herbs in a large bowl and set aside.
- Use the side of your knife to carefully but firmly smash the persian cucumbers until they are crumbling apart. You will have to chop them up in addition to smashing them in order to get uniform, bite-sized pieces, but do so after you’ve smashed them as it’s easier to smash a whole cucumber than already cut pieces.
- Using half of a large jalapeño, cut the pepper in half length-wize and then make thin slices shaped like half moons. You can also leave this out if you prefer a less spicy cucumber salad.
- Add the cucumbers and jalapeño to the bowl along with the rest of the ingredients.
- Mix all of the ingredients together, then let sit for about 15 minutes for the cucumber to marinate with the dressing.
- Serve and enjoy!
