Korean Cucumber Salad Recipe (spicy, easy, vegan) - Carlo Cao (2024)

FAQs

What to put on Korean cucumber salad? ›

Ingredients In Korean Cucumber Salad

Rice Vinegar– best for flavor but in a pinch substituting with apple cider vinegar, or champagne vinegar is fine. Green onions- or scallions add lovely flavor and color. Sesame oil– toasty deep flavor. Sesame seeds – for finishing the salad, and adding texture.

Korean cucumbers are generally thinner and longer than other cucumber varieties and are typically used fresh to make pickles, side dishes, and salads.

The solution: The standard recommendation for ridding watery vegetable such as cucumbers of unwanted moisture is to salt them. The salt draws out the liquid from the vegetable because of the natural tendency of salt water solutions to equalize when mixed together.

Best types of cucumber to use for Korean cucumber salad: Korean cucumber or Kirby cucumber. Japanese or Persian cucumber. There's no perfect substitute for Gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes).

Just place the slices or chunks in a colander over a bowl or sink. Sprinkle them with a couple of pinches of salt, toss to coat, and let them rest for about 30 minutes. Pat them dry with a paper towel and proceed with the recipe.

Korean Cucumbers are medium to large in sized cucumbers with green and white-green skin. The flesh is crisp and soft, with edible cream-coloured seeds. Eaten raw, Korean cucumbers are crunchy and sweet without the bitterness associated with other varieties of cucumber.

Persian Cucumbers

They have a mild flavor and thin skins, so they're great sliced or chopped for salads and snacking, or even tossed in the blender to make a Spicy Cucumber Margarita.

Long English Cucumber

Long English Cucumbers have a good crunch with thin, delicate skin that's easy to digest. The best part: you don't even need to peel them—just slice 'em up and eat them as the perfect quick snack. This type of Cucumber is great in salads as well as a ton of other things, too!

A cucumber's bitterness is caused by cucurbitacin, a bitter chemical that protects the plant from predators. Usually, cucurbitacin stays in the stem and leaves, but it can work its way into the fruit. A cucumber's bitterness is caused by cucurbitacin, a bitter chemical that protects the plant from predators.

After the cucumbers have been salted for a period of time, you'll want to rinse off the excess salt. At this point, you may be thinking 'what the hell, I just spent all this time removing the water! ' When we salt vegetables we're actually weakening the cell walls and therefore changing the integrity of the cucumber.

Can dogs eat cucumbers? ›

Can Dogs Have Cucumbers? Cucumbers are perfectly safe for dogs to eat, and offer a low-calorie, crunchy snack that many dogs love. Cucumbers only contain about 8 calories per one-half cup of slices, compared to the 40 calories in a single medium dog biscuit. Cucumbers are also very low in sodium and fat-free.

Commonly used vegetables include Korean radish, napa cabbage, cucumber, potato, sweet potato, spinach, bean sprouts, scallions, garlic, chili peppers, seaweed, zucchini, mushrooms, lotus root.

Red leaf lettuce is probably the most common in modern ssam but other lettuces, steamed or parboiled cabbage, and kaenip (also known as perilla) leaves are also are popular.

It All Comes Down to Cucurbitacin

It turns out that a specific compound, cucurbitacin, is responsible for this bitter flavor.

Spices: Cucumbers pair well with spices such as black pepper, cumin, and coriander. Fruits: Cucumbers pair well with fruits such as tomatoes, watermelon, and berries. Meats: Cucumbers pair well with meats such as chicken, salmon, and tuna. Seafood: Cucumbers pair well with seafood such as shrimp, crab, and oysters.

Chicken mu is Korean pickled radish that is specifically for pairing with Korean fried chicken, but it is also a great side dish for pretty much anything. It's sweet, tangy, crunchy, and totally necessary with Korean fried chicken in my opinion! Mu is Korean radish, and it is used to make MANY things in Korean cuisine!

Crisp and creamy cucumber salad makes the perfect summer side. This old-fashioned recipe combines thinly sliced sweet onions, cucumbers, dill, garlic, and mayo for an unbelievably delicious make-ahead dish.