This Garlic Soy Cucumber Salad is a fresh, crunchy twist on a classic. It’s packed with cucumbers, carrots, and red onion in a bold, garlicky soy dressing that’s easy, flavorful, and perfect for any meal.
Contrary to popular belief, my diet is not made up solely of fried chicken and banana pudding (but wouldn’t that be great!?!?). Nope. Actually, I love just about anything when it comes to food. As my Dad would say, I’ll eat just about anything that doesn’t eat me first. But I especially enjoy Asian food. Vietnamese is actually one of my favorites. And that’s where the inspiration for this recipe comes from.
The owners of my favorite Vietnamese place retired and closed their restaurant a while back, and I missed my pho and vermicelli bowls so much that I decided to create this cucumber salad inspired by those delicious vermicelli bowls that I devoured so often. I hope y’all enjoy it as much as I do!
This Vietnamese-inspired cucumber salad recipe takes on those classic cucumber salad flavors, amps it up with a tangy dressing consisting of soy sauce, garlic, rice wine vinegar, and black pepper, and adds a sprinkle of chopped peanuts for crunch. No need to add salt because you get plenty of flavor-enhancing sodium from the soy sauce, making this salad light, tangy, and the perfect low-carb side for everything from grilled meats to noodle bowls.
What Kind of Cucumbers Work Best?
For this Garlic Soy Cucumber Salad, I like using English cucumbers because they have thin skins and fewer seeds, which means no peeling or de-seeding required. Regular garden cucumbers work just fine, but you may want to peel them and scoop out the seeds for the best texture. The key is to end up with thinly sliced cucumbers so they soak up all that garlicky, soy dressing flavor.
Can I Make This Salad Ahead of Time?
While many cucumber salads taste better after a little time in the fridge, this Garlic Soy Cucumber Salad is best served fresh. The longer it sits, the more water the cucumbers release, which can dilute the flavorful soy and garlic dressing. Plus, the chopped peanuts lose their crunch. For the best texture and flavor, it’s best enjoyed within an hour of making it.
How to Serve Garlic Soy Cucumber Salad
This salad is super versatile. It’s great with grilled chicken, steak, or fish, and it adds a bright, tangy crunch to rice bowls and stir-fries. You can even toss it into a noodle bowl or serve it as a light side for an Asian-inspired supper.
Ingredients
- 2 large cucumbers thinly sliced
- 1 red onion thinly sliced
- 2 cups matchstick carrots
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- â…“ cup rice wine vinegar
- ¼ cup water
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup chopped roasted peanuts
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the cucumbers, onion, and carrots.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, water, and black pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the cucumber mixture and toss to coat. Garnish with peanuts when serving.
Notes
Nutrition
* If nutritional values are provided, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
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I made it! Delicious and refreshing! Your recipes never disappoint. Thank you!
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it! It’s awesome to know the recipes are hitting the mark for you. Thanks for the support!
I knew I would love this from the list of ingredients! I prepped the veggies and dressing individually so I could have this salad at work. About 30 minutes before lunch I mixed them together and that worked wonderfully. The peanuts are like icing on the cake. Definitely a keeper!
Awesome! So glad you loved how this turned out!
What is the nutrition numbers of the Garlic Soy recipe.
Hi Janet! I don’t typically include nutritional info. Here’s why? https://southernbite.com/heres-why-i-dont-post-nutritional-information-with-my-recipes/
I can’t wait to try this recipe
Hope you’ll enjoy it!
I make pasta salads each week for our food pantry volunteers. I use interesting salads and add cooked pasta. Can’t wait to try this one. I will use less water in the dressing, and add some sesame oil. I cut the cucumbers into quarters and chop thicker pieces. For those with peanut allergies I substitute sunflower seeds. You can buy them in the big box store inexpensively.
It was great! I meant sunflower kernels, not seeds.
That’s a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Can you recommend an alternative seed or nut that would go well with the Asian flavor for those of us who love but are allergic to peanuts?
Cashews should work perfectly!
I don’t see the amount of soy sauce in the recipe, can you please tell me how much to use would love to make this, thanks!
It’s 3 tablespoons. Can you see the other quantities in the recipe at the end of the post? Let me know if you need anything else. 🙂
I’ve decided I like zucchini in place of cucumbers because they are less watery and the seeds are less pronounced. I’ve been doing this for the last year. I also like the suggestion of adding noodles to make a crispy salad. Thanks
Great suggestion! I’ll have to try that sometimes.
Hey Stacey this recipe looks like a keeper. Can’t wait to try it. I looked over the recipe for number of servings three times. Did I miss it? I am keeping to a 1500 calorie diabetic diet so I need to put this in a nutrition calculator and it requires that. Thanks again.
I would imagine you could serve anywhere from 4 to 6 on this one depending on the serving size.
I love the look of this – what if I made is ahead of time and left out the water in the dressing; would that offset the water that comes out of the cucumber?
You are welcome to try that, I’ve just not done it that way. Let me know how it turns out.
i don’t eat very much asian food, but this looks delicious! what would i serve this with?
I think this would pair well with just about anything, but think it’s especially good with grilled meats.
This is so pretty! We love salads such as this. I plan on making this in a few days. Thank you!
Hope you’ll enjoy!!
What if we added some of those oriental noodles just before serving? I always love any extra crunch in my salads.