One of the simple pleasures of dining in a Thai restaurant in the US is the lovely delicate cucumber salad they serve as an appetizer
We like it so much we make a big batch and serve a big scoop as a vegetarian side dish with BBQ. The delicate piquancy of the mild rice vinegar is a great counterpoint to the sweetness of a classic Kansas City sauce. And the best part is that, unlike so many other cold cucumber salads, there is no oil in this recipe!
And yes, that’s a flower in the picture. It’s an edible nasturtium from my wife’s garden, and it has a nice peppery flavor. She also grows the Thai basil, cukes, peppers, and onions.
Like what you’re reading? Click here to get Smoke Signals, our free monthly email that tells you about new articles, recipes, product reviews, science, myth-busting, and more. Be Amazing!
Thai Cucumber Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Method
- Prep. In a medium bowl, whisk the sugar, salt, vinegar, and water together until the dry ingredients are dissolved.
- Chop the scallions on an angle starting from the white bulb up the stem about two inches into the green stems. Squish them a bit to separate them into rings. Add to the bowl.
- Cut the jalapeño in half lengthwise. Scrape out the seeds. If you don’t want it too hot, cut out the white ribs. Like heat? Leave the ribs in there. Thinly slice the jalapeño and add to the bowl.
- Peel the cucumbers and run the tines of a fork lightly along the exterior flesh so that it makes scratches in the surface. Scoring the cucumber like this is not necessary, it just makes it look cool. Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon. Cut the cucumber into 1/8-inch (3.2 mm) slices. Add to the bowl. Add the basil. If you are using cilantro, add it now.
- Marinate. Stir everything, coating the ingredients with the dressing, then cover and let it marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
- Serve. Serve chilled. If you plan to use chopped peanuts as a topping, add them at the last minute so they don’t get soggy.
Sign up for a free trial of the AmazingRibs.com Pitmaster Club and experience everything that the world's largest membership-based BBQ and grilling community has to offer!
Before you can post a comment or question you must sign into our commenting partner, Disqus. This helps make sure everyone hanging around the grill is civil. We do not tolerate nastiness, racism, porn, inappropriate language, or attacks on others. All comments are the property of AmazingRibs.com and we reserve the right to quote them, edit them, delete them, and block people from making future comments.
Please leave comments and questions on the same page that is devoted to that subject so others can see questions and our answers when they are reading about the subject. You must enable JavaScript to use the comments section, and you must accept cookies to post comments. Note: the software that runs Disqus is different from the Pitmaster Club, so members need to sign into the Pitmaster Club separately.