KAPOW! This action-packed smashed Asian cucumber salad has flavour and CRUNCH like you wouldn’t believe. Plus it’s super quick (and super fun) to make! Just THWACK those cucumbers and drizzle with our quick and PUNCHY garlic sesame dressing.
In this post you’ll learn
Our fave Asian fakeaway salad!
This recipe (also known as pai huang gua) is a love-letter to our favourite noodle joint in Adelaide: Li’s Rice Noodle Bar (合府米线). We always order it alongside their giant spicy noodle bowls, since the juicy cooling cucumber is a great way to temper the heat.
It’s now our go-to side salad for rich, heavy or spicy Asian recipes like spicy miso ramen or gochujang stew.
But it’s not all about the juiciness: it’s that crunchy texture too! The combo of smashed cucumber and roasted peanuts is seriously out of this world. Like Eileen’s self-saucing salad, it’s one of those magic creations guaranteed to get salad “haters” coming back for more.
Related: Shopska Salad / Seasoned Spinach (Korean Banchan) / Oi Muchim (Korean Cucumber Salad)
Why “smashed” cucumbers though?
It might sound weird at first, if you haven’t tried it before, but there’s two reasons we thoroughly recommend bashing those cucumbers!
- It’s super fun and surprisingly therapeutic to whip out the rolling pin and smash those cucumbers.
- The random shapes from smashing and chopping creates so much more surface area for the flavour-packed dressing to soak into the cucumber.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Cucumber – You can make this salad with just about any variety of cucumber: Continental, Lebanese, Japanese or smaller Asian style curly cucumbers. You can even use baby cukes (you’ll just need more of them). Some will have slightly more juice, others will have slightly more bitter flavour.
- Peanuts – We love using whole peanuts in their shell like they do at Li’s Rice Noodle Bar. We roast them first to ad a light toasty crunch to the salad. Sub with raw or crushed peanuts if you prefer, but avoid salted peanuts which can make the dish be too salty.
- Salt – Use kosher or sea salt to draw out the excess juice in the cucumber and make them more crunchy.
- Sugar – This helps to balance out the salt for a moreishly sweet and savoury flavour.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic is best, and we recommend chopping it finely so you get those nice crispy pops of flavour throughout. Sub with minced garlic if you really must.
- Sesame Oil – If you don’t have any on hand, you can make a quick homemade toasted sesame oil or sub with rayu chilli oil for a burst of spicy heat.
- Rice Wine Vinegar – Li’s use black vinegar in their version, but we tend to use rice wine vinegar or white vinegar at home as they work great and we always have them on hand. Sub with apple cider vinegar, brown vinegar, or a mix of different vinegars to tweak the flavour just how you like it.
- Soy Sauce – Any soy sauce works for this dish. Feel free to sub with tamari if you like an even deeper soy flavour.
- Oyster Sauce – A thick, sweet and savoury condiment used in Chinese and Southeast Asian cuisines. Real oyster sauce is made from oysters of course, but it’s possible to get vegetarian “oyster sauce” made from mushroom extract if you prefer.
Let’s get cooking!
- Mix the sauce ingredients in a small dish: sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce and oyster sauce.
- Wash the cucumber then place on a wooden board or bench top. Smash lightly with rolling pin.
- Slice the cucumber into 1 cm / ½ inch chunks and place in a medium bowl.
- Pour over the salt and sugar, giving it a quick mix to coat, then allow to sit for a few minutes so the salt can draw out the juices.
- Meanwhile, heat half the vegetable oil in a small saucepan over medium high heat, pour in the peanuts and roast until they’re lightly browned on a few sides and start making a crackling sound (around 3 minutes). Remove the peanuts and place on top of the cucumber, leaving as much oil as you can in the pan.
- Add the remaining vegetable oil and garlic to the saucepan and quickly fry for 30 seconds or until nice and crispy.
- Pour the fried garlic into the sauce mix.
- Pour the sauce over the cucumber and peanuts, mix together and serve.
Quick Tips
Storage
This salad is best enjoyed fresh. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, but try to use them up within around 24 hours as the flavour and texture will change over time. It’ll also be a lot juicier as the salt will continue to draw water from the cucumber over time.
FAQs & Troubleshooting
We don’t recommend it. As mentioned above, the salt will continue to draw liquid from the cucumber, changing the texture and diluting the flavour over time.
You can pair this salad with most Asian recipes, but it really shines as a refreshing contrast to spicy or heavy dishes. Try it alongside:
– Soups or stews: Tantanmen Ramen, Spicy Miso Ramen, Tsukemen Dipping Ramen or Gochujang Stew.
– Stir Fries: Kana Moo Grob (Crispy Thai Pork) or Vietnamese Ginger Chicken
– Fried Dishes: Chicken Karaage, Pork Tonkatsu or Airfried Chicken Katsu
– Curries: Choo Chee Chicken or Curry Udon
It also works great as a summer salad alongside your favourite BBQ or grill recipes like cevapi, grilled sausages, rissoles or yakiniku.
We use our wooden rolling pin which has a little weight behind it, making it easy to crack open the cucumbers. You can use the flat side of a meat tenderiser (also very safe) or lay a large knife flat against the cucumber and smash it with your other hand to achieve the same result (just be extra careful if you use this method).
Variations
- Add Heat – Add a small amount of your favourite chilli paste such as Lao Gan Ma chilli sauce, doubanjiang (spicy bean sauce), chilli powder or chilli oil.
- Extra Veggies – Add a handful of chopped green onion / spring onion, sliced red onion, fresh coriander or mint.
- Alternate Dressings – Replace the original dressing with a squeeze of fresh lime, or swap it out for wafu dressing or roasted sesame dressing.
Try these amazing recipes next:
★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment and a star rating below!
Equipment
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- ½ tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
For the cucumber salad
- 1 cucumber sub 4 baby cucumbers, around 200 g / 7 oz
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- ⅓ cup peanuts whole, skin on, 50 g / 1.76 oz
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil divided, for frying
Instructions
- Mix the sauce ingredients in a small dish: 2 tsp sesame oil, ½ tbsp rice wine vinegar, 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp oyster sauce.2 tsp sesame oil, ½ tbsp rice wine vinegar, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- Wash the 1 cucumber then place on a wooden board or bench top. Smash lightly with rolling pin. Slice into 1 cm / ½ inch chunks and place in a medium bowl. Pour over the 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar, giving it a quick mix to coat, then allow to sit for a few minutes so the salt can draw out the juices.1 cucumber, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar
- Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a small saucepan over medium high heat, pour in the ⅓ cup peanuts and roast until they’re lightly browned on a few sides and start making a crackling sound (around 3 minutes). Remove the peanuts and place on top of the cucumber, leaving as much oil as you can in the pan.2 tbsp vegetable oil, ⅓ cup peanuts
- Add the remaining 2 tbsp vegetable oil and 2 garlic cloves to the saucepan and quickly fry for 30 seconds or until nice and crispy. Add it to the sauce mix.2 tbsp vegetable oil, 2 garlic cloves
- Pour the sauce over the cucumber and peanuts, mix together and serve.
Video
Recipe Notes
- Storage – This salad is best enjoyed fresh. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, but try to use them up within around 24 hours as the flavour and texture will change over time. It’ll also be a lot juicier as the salt will continue to draw water from the cucumber over time.
- Smashing – Experiment with the pressure but don’t be too excessive. You wan’t to find the right balance where it will crack open the skin without turning the cucumbers into mush!
- Bitter Cucumber Variety? – If you know your cucumbers are not as sweet or juicy as other varieties, you can peel long strips off half of the cucumber skin to help reduce the bitterness.
- Add Heat – Add a small amount of your favourite chilli paste such as Lao Gan Ma chilli sauce, doubanjiang (spicy bean sauce), chilli powder or chilli oil.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in July 2023 and was republished in 2024 with new content.
No Comments