This spicy cucumber salad (known as oi muchim in Korean) is the perfect, refreshing side dish. It’s tangy, sweet and ever so slightly spicy with the freshness and crunch of cucumber.
This Korean cucumber salad consists of cucumber, onion, chilli and sesame seeds all dressed in a light and tangy dressing. There are many different variations; with or without garlic, soy sauce and vinegar. Some have more sugar than others. Some have more chili than others. This makes it very customisable and this is my take on that spicy cucumber salad.
It’s lovely served with any rich, savoury meats – it’s great with these gochujang beef bowls and with Korean BBQ.
Try this creamy cucumber salad too.
I created my salad recipe with the help of Kimchimari, My Korean Kitchen and Maangchi for understanding the basics.
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Ingredients
There is only a short list of very simple ingredients in this spicy Korean cucumber salad recipe.
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredient quantities and instructions.
- Dressing: The salad dressing is made up of rice wine vinegar (or rice vinegar), soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil. You could swap the vinegar for apple cider vinegar and the sugar can be swapped for honey if you prefer.
- Cucumber: I use about 3 Lebanese cucumbers (aka Persian cucumbers). You can use other cucumber varieties like English cucumbers, Japanese cucumbers or Qukes but just aim for a total of 3 ½ cups of sliced cucumber. You want one that has an edible, thin skin.
- Spring onions are also known as green onions or scallions.
- Gochugaru is air-dried Korean chili flakes. You can get them in Asian grocers and it’s best to stick to them if possible for this recipe. They are much milder than regular chili flakes or red pepper flakes as they are made only from the walls of the chilli pepper, and not the seeds. Being milder means you can taste the flavour of the chilli much more. They’re smoky, a little sweet and a little spicy. If you can’t find them, you could use dried chilli flakes (red pepper flakes) but dial it right down – possibly as low as ¼ of a teaspoon. From there, add to taste.
- Toasted sesame seeds: You can either buy toasted sesame seeds (again, Asian grocers will have them) or just toast some sesame seeds in a pan.
How to make spicy cucumber salad
This salad takes just minutes to throw together and there is no cooking involved at all.
Jump to the recipe card for full ingredient quantities and instructions.
1. Make the dressing
Start by mixing the dressing ingredients together. You can whisk it together in a jug or shake it all up in a jar with a tight fitting lid.
2. Prep the vegetables
Rinse the cucumbers, then pat them dry. Slice the cucumbers into half moons about 5mm / ⅕ inch thick. Slice the spring onions, thinly.
If you like, you can take the extra step of salting the cucumber slices for 30 minutes. After than, rinse them, pat them dry and proceed. This process removes excess liquid from the cucumbers and allows the dressing to soak in a bit more but I don’t personally bother with this step.
3. Combine it all
Now add the cucumber, onion, sesame seeds, gochugaru and dressing to a large mixing bowl and toss to mix it all together. Serve immediately or chill until required. If you leave it overnight, the cucumber will soften more and almost have a pickled texture but it’s still lovely.
Storage tips
Store any leftover Korean cucumber salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
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Ingredients
- 1 ½ tablespoons rice wine vinegar (6 tsp, notes 1)
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (4 tsp, notes 1)
- 3 teaspoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon sesame oil
- 3 ½ cups sliced cucumber (English, 3x Lebanese, Persian or Qukes)
- 3 spring onions (scallions / green onions) , finely sliced
- 2 teaspoons gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes)
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Equipment
- Jug or jar with tight fitting lid
- Large mixing bowl
Instructions
- Combine the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake to combine and dissolve the sugar (or just whisk it in a small bowl or jug).
- Slice the cucumber into half moons about 5mm / ⅕ inch thick, and transfer to a large bowl.
- Add the spring onions, gochugaru, sesame seeds and dressing and toss well to combine.
- 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.
- Gochugaru is Korean red pepper flakes or chilli flakes. They are not as hot as regular dried chilli flakes or red pepper flakes so you shouldn’t substitute 1:1. It’s best to get gochugaru if possible (from Asian grocers) but if you can’t, use only about ¼ teaspoon of chilli flakes then add more to your taste. It shouldn’t be a super hot salad.
- Nutrition details are approximate only – scroll below the recipe to find the full nutritional information.
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