This Asian cucumber salad recipe is a perfect way to add a light, healthy dish to your spring and summer meals. The marinated cucumbers with just a little heat add interest without extra work. It’s easy and perfect for summer barbecues! Originally published September 11, 2013.
Today I spent more money at the grocery store than I have ever spent in my life. I actually got the shakes when I was checking out and saw the number go up and up and up. Sweaty, tremble-y hands, discombobulated, everything. I’m like the antithesis of a shopaholic.
It’s not that I can’t spend money.
It’s just that usually when I spend that much money on something, I’ve thought about it for a while, and of course talked to Eric about it. I can’t handle the fact that I just randomly went and spent hundreds of dollars on a Monday afternoon.
When Eric interviewed for his job, they talked to him about “sticker shock.” It’s something we were expecting. You don’t move to California and expect your grocery bill to be the same. Plus, whenever you move into a new place you have to stock up on everything that is usually just already in your fridge: mayonnaise, salad dressing, ice cream. What, ice cream isn’t a staple in your freezer? You will probably live longer than me.
Well, I’m just glad I’m so cheap that I took the time to pack up my entire pantry before we moved. When all the kitchen boxes were finally emptied, I had 4 pounds of powdered sugar, 30 or 40 cans of beans and tomatoes and fruit, 4 containers of cocoa powder, tons of pasta, Crisco, chocolate chips…you get the idea. I think I had more food packed in those boxes than my brother had in his entire kitchen (before I started cooking for them, of course.)
This Asian cucumber salad is a perfect way to add a light, healthy dish to your spring and summer meals. The marinated cucumbers with just a little heat add interest without extra work. It’s easy and perfect for summer barbecues!
Ingredients
- ▢1 large Cucumber seedless English variety, very thinly sliced
- ▢¼ sweet onion very thinly sliced
- ▢1/3 cup rice vinegar
- ▢1 tablespoon sesame seeds toasted
- ▢1 tablespoon dill minced & fresh dill or ½ teaspoon dried dill weed
- ▢¾ teaspoon salt
- ▢¾ teaspoon sugar
- ▢¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes crushed
Instructions
- Slice the cucumbers as thinly as you can without slicing your hand. Or go buy a mandoline.
- Throw your tablespoon of sesame seeds into a small dry frying pan. Set over medium heat and stir occasionally until the seeds just begin to brown. You don’t want to overdo it.
- Gently toss together all of the ingredients until everything is evenly coated. Put in a container with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Marinated salads like this always improve with time, so feel free to make this ahead of time. Refrigerate for up to 5 days. Gently toss again before serving.