How Do You Prepare Cucumbers?
The main effort involved in making this salad is slicing the cucumbers into bite-sized pieces. Depending on your preferences, you can remove the seeds or leave them alone. The salad will be slightly more watery if you leave the seeds in and let the salad sit out for too long. When I’m making this for my family, I quickly slice the cucumbers leaving the seeds in for maximum speed and nutrition. However, if I’m bringing this salad to a party where it might sit out for a bit, I’ll take the time to slice the cucumber lengthwise first, then I’ll use a spoon to scoop the seeds out.
How Do You Cut Cucumbers for Salad?
There are two ways you can cut the cucumbers for this salad. The first way is into larger, 1 1/2-inch chunks, which leaves you with a sturdier salad. The second way is to slice the cucumber in half lengthwise first, and then cut the cucumber halves into thin, half-moon shapes. This is the texture I prefer when eating cucumber salad, but keep in mind that the cucumber will start to wilt and sweat a little faster with this method. It’s best to toss the cucumbers in the salad dressing just before serving to help keep their crunch in tact.
How to Make Cucumber Salad
Once you’ve sliced the cucumbers, making this salad is easy. In a large bowl, combine the lime juice, sesame oil, ginger, salt, and honey, and whisk to combine. Then you’ll add in the chopped cucumbers, green onions, and fresh mint leaves.
I recommend serving this salad as soon as you’ve tossed the cucumbers with the dressing, as the cucumbers will sweat as they sit in the bowl. This can dilute the flavor if it sits too long, but you can always add an extra squeeze of lime juice or season with extra salt, as needed. If you’re planning on making this salad ahead of time, store the cucumbers separately from from the dressing so that they will stay crisp, then toss them together right before serving.
Cucumber Salad Recipe (1-minute video):
Recipe Notes:
You can swap lemon juice for the lime juice, or use a mix of both. For a vegan salad, use maple syrup instead of the honey, or try coconut nectar. These are both slightly less sweet than honey, so you might want to use a little more to your taste.
If you try this salad, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like it. And if you make any substitutions, I’d love to hear how that works for you, too. We can all benefit from hearing about your experience. – Reader Feedback: What’s your favorite way to serve cucumbers?
