Simple Sesame Cucumber Salad

Sesame Cucumber Salad is a great accompaniment to stir-fries, noodle dishes, and other Asian-inspired meals. Flavored with sesame oil and mild rice vinegar and finished with a sprinkling of sesame seeds, this is a simple salad that’s easy to make.

Look for rice vinegar in natural foods stores and in the Asian foods section of well-stocked supermarkets. Rice vinegar is best in this dish since it’s so mild, but you can substitute white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar if you can’t find it.

It’s all in the cuke: I like to use hothouse cucumbers for this because they’re flavorful all year round, not very seedy (so you know what you’re getting), and slice up nicely. Mini cucumbers are good, too. They’re usually found in packages of six, which would be a good amount for this salad.

Sesame cucumber salad goes well with:

• Stir-Fried Sweet and Sour Vegetables
• Super-Easy Broccoli and Seitan Stir-Fry
• Stir-Fried Soba Noodles with Tofu and Green Vegetables

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Yield: 4

Simple Sesame Cucumber Salad

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Sesame cucumber salad is a great accompaniment to stir-fries, noodle dishes, and other Asian-inspired meals.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 15 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

Dressing

• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
 (see note)
• 2 teaspoons dark sesame oil

• 1 teaspoon agave or natural granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon grated fresh or squeeze-bottle ginger

The salad

• 
1 long hothouse cucumber, thinly sliced
• 
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives or scallion
• 
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

• 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 
2 to 3 teaspoons white or black sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Combine the ingredients for the dressing in a small container and stir together. 
2. Combine the cucumber, chives, cilantro, and salt in a mixing bowl and toss together. 
3. Pour the dressing over the cucumber mixture and toss together again. Let stand for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Transfer the cucumber salad to a shallow serving bowl and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Serve at once.

Notes

Look for rice vinegar in the Asian foods section of well-stocked supermarkets.

Though it's not as mild, you can substitute white wine vinegar if you can't find rice vinegar. Start with a little less, perhaps 1 1/2 tablespoons.

If you like this cucumber salad, you might also enjoy …

Japanese-Style Cucumber & Wakame Salad

Refreshing Pickled Cucumber Salad

And find lots more cucumber salads.

Photos (top and middle): Mila Naumova/Bigstock