This Asian cucumber salad is healthy, crunchy, and refreshing! Tossed in a simple dressing of rice vinegar, sugar, garlic, and chili oil. A Din Tai Fung cucumber salad copycat recipe.
This crunchy Asian cucumber salad is a refreshing side dish or appetizer to any Asian meal. It's made with lightly brined Persian cucumbers and dressed in a simple garlicky Asian vinaigrette.
This is a Din Tai Fung cucumber salad copycat recipe. For those of you who haven't heard of Din Tai Fung, it's a popular restaurant here in Seattle that makes amazing dumplings, rice cakes, and Asian sides. This is one of their most popular sides, which I crave frequently. I see it on every table whenever I go. The problem is, it also takes about 45 minutes to get a table! So I had to figure out how to make this cucumber salad at home.
Try these Din Tai Fung Inspired Dry Fried Garlic Green Beans or Din Tai Fung Stir Fried Shanghai Rice Cakes:
Din Tai Fung - Dry Fried Garlic Green Beans
Din Tai Fung Stir Fried Shanghai Rice Cakes
After experimenting a few times with different dressings and cucumbers, I think I hit the nail on the head. This is a pretty darn good copycat of the Din Tai Fung cucumber salad, if I say so myself. 🙂
Tips for Asian Cucumber Salad:
Start with a little over 4 cups of coined Persian cucumbers, about 15 of them. Add 1 Tablespoon of sea salt and toss them together. The cucumbers will start to release their liquid as they start absorbing the salt. You'll end up with super crunchy cucumbers after the brine. I let mine sit for 45 minutes but you could go as little as 30 minutes.
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- Salt the cucumbers and let them brine.
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- Toss with a simple, garlicky Asian dressing.
While that's brining, prepare the simple dressing of rice vinegar, sugar, garlic, and chili oil.
This Asian cucumber salad is delicious served immediately but I find it tastes the best when served chilled. I like to let the cucumbers brine in the fridge so that they're cold and ready to be tossed in the dressing.
I hope you make this Din Tai Fung Asian cucumber salad! Please share, rate, and comment below. I’d love to hear from you!
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Crunchy Asian Cucumber Salad
☑ Ingredients
- 15 persian cucumbers - cut ½" thick, a little over 4 cups
- 1 Tablespoon sea salt
Cucumber Salad Dressing
- 3 Tablespoons rice vinegar - unseasoned
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 3 ½ Tablespoons water
- 1 Tablespoon chili oil
- 4 garlic cloves - thinly sliced
Instructions
- Mix together the cucumbers and salt in a large bowl and let it sit for 30 - 45 minutes. Rinse with water 2 - 3 times. Taste the cucumber and rinse one more time if it's too salty.
- Meanwhile mix together all the ingredients for the cucumber salad dressing.
- Toss the rinsed cucumbers with the dressing and serve immediately. See notes if you don't plan to serve this until later.
✎ Recipe Notes
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is an estimate, calculated using online tools.
Emily Wedin
I’m really confused as to how this recipe calls for 15 cucumbers. Id imagine even with small Persian cucumbers, there would be way more than 4 cups of sliced cucumbers from 15 whole cucumbers. Am I missing something?
Jamie
Hi Emily! I guess my cucumbers were really small but you can use any amount that measures out to 4 cups.
Julia
I just picked the last of the cucumbers from the garden and made this delicious salad. I followed the recipe exactly, except I added crushed red pepper flakes instead of chilli oil. It is so good. Fresh and tasty - everything you would want from a salad.
Jamie
Thank you so much Julia! That makes me so happy to hear!
Eza
Delicious! Thanks for sharing! I added a splash of toasted sesame oil to the sauce and came out great!
Jamie
Glad to hear it Eza! Thanks for trying it out! 🙂
Diana
Thanks for the awesome recipe, Jamie! I would probably do less salt for the brine next time bc it still ended up a tad bit too salty even with the rinsing 😅 Overall, flavors were great. And I only used 1 tbsp of sugar 🙂 Thank you!
Jamie
Thanks Diana! So happy to hear you enjoyed the flavors. And definitely adjust according to taste, it's so customizable isn't it? 🙂
Ebeeza
I actually noticed a big difference depending what kind of salt is used. The first time I made it w a generic brand of sea salt and the cucumbers were def on the salty side. So the next time I made w pink Himalayan salt (same amount) and it came outperfect!
Lisa H
Hi. Thank you. This is delicious! Our Din Tai Fung also added toasted sesame oil.
eileen
Hello, Could your recommend a substitute for the chili oil
Thank You
Jamie
Hi Eileen! You can add a bit of crushed red pepper flakes and a drizzle of oil. Hope that helps! 🙂
Harriet
My hubby and I love this recipe! We have made it four times so far, and just can't get enough of this!! SO easy!!!!
Jamie
Thanks Harriet! It's such an easy cucumber salad with so much flavor!
Anna
I made this a few months ago and forgot to comment! We had an excess amount of cucumbers from a very flourishing plant. I was looking for many new ways to enjoy them.... there are only so many plain cucumber salads you can eat. This salad was fabulous - we loved the crunch of the cucumber and the fresh flavours from the dressing. Tasty!
Linda
Only 45 mins wait to get into Din Tai Fung? I'm jealous! We wait well over an hour in Glendale (in Los Angeles). This is a favorite FAVORITE dish of ours. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Jamie
Thanks Linda! Haha sometimes it's longer than 45 minutes but we usually wait if we have the time lol. So glad you enjoyed this! 🙂
Kara
So good! Thanks for the recipe! How exactly do you make the garnish?
Thanks again 🙂
Jamie
Hi Kara! So glad you liked this! For the garnish, I just placed a thin slice of garlic from the dressing and topped it with a piece of red pepper. That's how it's served at the restaurant that inspired this dish. 🙂
Skye
I love the din tai fung cucumber salad! This was amazing, the only think I did differently was just add a little sesame oil and some pepper flakes. Will 100% be making again. Thank you!
Jamie
Hi Skye! So glad you liked it! That's a great idea adding sesame oil. 🙂
Yiling
this was excellent and a great appetizer!
Jamie
Thank you! So glad you liked it Yiling! 🙂
Beth
I have a daughter who is obsessed with cucumbers! She will LOVE this! I had no idea there were so many varieties of cucumbers! Going to look for the Persian kind.
Anjali @ The Picky Eater
This recipe was so easy to make and I loved the sweet + spicy flavors in the dressing, it paired so well with the fresh, crunchy cucumbers!
Anita
This is such a refreshing and easy cucumber salad. Getting a table at Din Tai Fung is no joke. I haven't been to the one in Seattle but can confirm that the one in Jakarta (Indonesia) always has a long queue too. 🙂
Kelly Anthony
I love finding a great copycat recipe because it saves me money while still getting to enjoy amazing food.
Shay
This was just like the cucumber salad at din tai fung. I'm so glad I found this recipe!
Jamie
Thank you so much Shay! So glad you enjoyed it.
Ashley
This was so good! The cucumbers came out really crunchy and flavorful.
Jamie
Thank you Ashley! This is one of my favorite ways to have cucumbers. 🙂
Larissa
Hello, do you add the garlic chili sauce to the brine?
Jamie
Hi Larissa! Leave out the cucumber salad dressing until right before serving. The brine and dressing are separate and shouldn't be combined. I hope that answers your question. Thanks!
Kristina
Absolutely delicious and it was so easy to make! Saving this recipe to make this again!