This easy to make Chili Cucumber Salad is my go-to favorite side dish especially in the summertime when we do a lot of grilling! I love that this salad is so refreshing and only uses five ingredients. The chili pepper is an optional ingredient, which gives the salad that extra zing. So if you don’t want the recipe to be spicy, just omit the chili pepper altogether.
This salad is perfect as a side to go with Roasted Chicken, Caramelized Shrimp with 7Up! Or........how about for breakfast with Bacon and Egg with Garlic Fried Rice!
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Ingredients Needed To Make Chili Cucumber Salad
- Cucumbers: my favorite ones to use are the smaller cucumbers as they have a very crisp and refreshing flavor. And the miniature size looks good presentation-wise.
- Red Onions: thinly sliced.
- Rice Vinegar: this one is my favorite.
- Brown Sugar: or white sugar can be used.
- Chili Pepper: dried or fresh. You can find them at your local grocery.
- Green Onion (garnish)
- Cilantro (garnish): the flavor of cilantro adds to the salad, however, you can omit them if you don’t care for the flavors of cilantro.
Key Ingredients Notes
This recipe uses red Thai chili peppers which can be found in your grocery store in the Asian aisle. Try the recipe with just using one, and when you're ready to be adventurous, go for more. The rice vinegar and brown sugar temper the spiciness of the chili pepper.
How To Make This Salad
STEP 1: Make the vinaigrette
STEP 2: Thinly slice the cucumbers.
STEP 3: Add thinly sliced red onions.
STEP 4: Add vinaigrette and garnish.
Expert Tips
- Rice Vinegar is made from fermented rice and is, therefore, less acidic than regular vinegar and has a very delicate, mild, and somewhat sweet flavor. It’s commonly used in marinades and salad dressings, and for pickling vegetables.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Note that vinegar will wilt the vegetables the longer it is set on it. So keep that in mind.
Promptly place it in the refrigerator in a sealed container within 1 to 2 hours of serving. And IF you even have any leftover store in the coldest part of the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Well-wrapped leftovers can be kept in the freezer for up to three months.
Yes. Thinly sliced carrots, red cabbage, bean sprouts, or any other vegetables you like on your salad, would go well with this recipe.
What Goes With Chili Cucumber Salad
📖 Recipe Card
Ingredients
- ¼ cup Rice Vinegar
- ½ t Brown Sugar
- 1 Cucumber thinly sliced
- ¼ cup Red Onion thinly sliced
- Sprig of Cilantro
- 1 Red Chili Pepper
Instructions
- Whisk together rice vinegar and sugar in a bowl. Set aside.
- Cut thin slices of cucumber and place in a medium sized bowl.
- Thinly slice red onion and place in a medium sized bowl.
- Pour vinaigrette on top of sliced cucumbers and onions. Top with red chili peppers, cilantro and green onions.
Notes
- This salad is great served as a side dish with meat or seafood.
- Goes perfectly with our Caramelized Shrimp recipe.
- The best type of cucumber to use is seedless, as some types with seeds tend to taste a bit bitter.
- You can either peel or leave the skin on the cucumber.
Emma
I paired this salad recipe with your Filipino Beef BBQ, great combo! Thanks for the suggestion. I appreciate how easy your instructions are too.
Jocelyn Wilhelm
Thank you! That is my favorite pairing too! Any grilled meats go well with my Chili Cucumber Salad. Appreciate the review.
MJ
This was such a quick and tasty recipe. Reminds me of salads I’ve eaten at Thai restaurants.
Linda
WOW! A very simple recipe with loads of flavor. I added thinly sliced carrots to this and it was a hit to my backyard BBQ party! Thank you for sharing!