These Korean-style marinated cucumbers are the crunchy, punchy side dish your table has been missing. Fresh cucumber slices soak up a bold garlicky marinade of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil with a kick of chili, then chill into an irresistible sweet-savory-spicy bite. If you enjoy fresh vegetable salads like our Crunchy Cabbage Cucumber Salad or Salad with Crispy Eggplant, this quick appetizer will fit right in.
Ingredients
- 300 g (10 oz) fresh cucumbers, sliced
- 10 g (2 tsp) garlic, minced
- 4–5 g fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- 2–4 g chili pepper, to taste
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 0.5 tsp dried basil
- 0.5 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
- Toss the cucumber slices with all the marinade ingredients and adjust the chili to your preferred heat level.
- Adjust salt to taste depending on how salty your soy sauce is.
- Marinate in the refrigerator for 1–2 hours before serving.
Tips
- Slice the cucumbers evenly, about 3–4 mm thick, so they absorb the marinade at the same rate.
- Start with less chili pepper and add more to taste — you can always turn up the heat.
- These keep well for 2–3 days in the fridge, and the flavor gets even better overnight. For more marinated salad inspiration, explore the guides at seriouseats.com.
Nutrition: per 100 g — 46.4 kcal, protein 2.1 g, fat 5.4 g. Values are estimates; see usda.gov for official reference data.