Ajaad (also spelt ajad, achat or ajat) is a Thai cucumber salad or relish often served alongside Thai satay. Generally, it’s a salad of chunky pieces of cucumber, shallot and sliced chilli in a pickling liquid. which packs a sweet, sour and slightly spicy flavour.
My version may or may not be authentic. It’s a copycat of the one my local Thai takeaway serves as a dipping sauce. The closest I can come to a name for it is ajaad sauce since it’s made up of the exact same ingredients just cut much smaller and used for dipping. It’s similar to nam jim sauce. Refreshing and tangy, it’s also utterly delicious.
Go here for an authentic ajaad salad version.
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Again, I want to be really clear that this is not a classic style ajaad. This version is one my local takeaway serves as a dipping sauce. I just love it and wanted to share it here. For all intents and purposes, it is ajaad but served sauce style as opposed to the classic salad style.
At the very least, it’s a delicious Thai style cucumber chilli sauce.
Ingredients
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredients and instructions.
- Rice wine vinegar
- Sugar
- Thai chilli or long red chilli
- Cucumber
- Shallot
- Fish sauce
How to make Thai cucumber sauce
Ajaad, whether made in the classic salad style or turned into a sauce like this, is so incredibly easy to make. Cook the pickling liquid ingredients together to dissolve the sugar then let it cool. Once cool add the chopped vegetables.
This quick Thai pickle, can then be used immediately but keeps well for 3-4 days or so in an airtight jar in the fridge.
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Ingredients
- ⅓ cup rice wine vinegar
- ¼ cup white granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons water (notes 1)
- 2-3 teaspoons fresh finely chopped chilli to your taste
- ¼ cup finely diced cucumber seeds removed
- 1 tablespoon finely diced shallot (or red onion)
- ½ teaspoon fish sauce (or soy sauce if you don't like fish sauce)
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- Small saucepan
Instructions
- Heat rice wine vinegar, sugar and water stirring until dissolved. Bring it to a boil for a minute, then set it aside to cool.
- Once cool add chilli, cucumber and onion. Stir in fish sauce.
- Please take a moment to leave a comment & rating. It's appreciated and so helpful.
Notes
- Tablespoons: I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon (equal to 4 teaspoons). Check yours before measuring.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
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2 Comments on “Ajaad Sauce (Thai Cucumber Chilli Relish)”
This is exactly what I was looking for! I’m obsessed with this save from my local Thai restaurant. Now I can if all the time at home! Thanks! It’s Delish!
So happy you love it, Aleana. Truly appreciate you dropping back to review.