Asian Spiral Cut Cucumber Salad is refreshing and simple. The spiral shape is easy to do with a knife and creates a beautiful presentation while also helping the cucumbers to absorb more of the delicious Asian inspired dressing and flavor.

As a food and recipe blogger, I am often asked where my inspiration for a recipe comes from. The answer is that it comes from anywhere including places I visit, or even something I find while mindlessly scrolling TikTok on a lazy Sunday morning.

When I saw a recipe for spiral cucumber salad going viral on TikTok, I knew I wanted to put my own touch on this visually appealing and refreshing recipe idea. This Spiral Cucumber Salad is simple and versatile and the Asian inspired dressing is *perfection*. Allow it to chill in the refrigerator for the best results — it is so great for a summer gathering or a light snack. I’m obsessed! Enjoy!
❤️Ashley

Spiral Cutting a Cucumber

While this cucumber salad can be made with sliced cucumbers, spiral cutting a cucumber is a fun and easy way to make a cucumber salad more visually appealing. It is easier than you might think to spiral cut a cucumber by hand with a knife.

To spiral cut a cucumber with a knife:

1. Trim the ends from the cucumber and discard.
2. Set up the cucumber: place in on a cutting board then position a chopstick or a butter knife on each side of the cucumber lengthwise to prevent cutting all the way through.
3. Make vertical cuts across the cucumber (like you’re slicing it) every ⅛ inch or so. Remember, you are not cutting all the way through the cucumber and that’s why you are using butter knives or chopsticks.
4. Make diagonal cuts: flip the cucumber over then make diagonal cuts every ⅛ inch. Again, you are not cutting the cucumber all the way through.
5. Unfold the cucumber: gently pull on the ends of the cucumber to reveal the spiral / accordion shape.

I like to cut the spiral cucumbers into thirds so that I’m left with little mini chunks of spiraled cucumbers. This makes it easier to eat.

Salting Cucumbers

Salting cucumbers is a technique that is used to pull out the excess moisture found in cucumbers which helps to concentrate the flavor. While it is not a requirement to salt cucumbers for this recipe, if time allows, I recommend it. It will only take about 15-30 minutes.

After slicing the cucumbers:

1. Place spiral cut cucumbers in a bowl.
2. Sprinkle them with 1 tablespoon of salt. Toss to coat.
3. Let sit – allow the cucumbers to sit for 15-30 minutes.
4. Rinse cucumbers – use cold water to thoroughly rinse the cucumbers then pat dry with paper towels.

Asian Cucumber Salad Dressing

One of the benefits of spiral cutting a cucumber is that it allows the cucumber to soak up more of the delicious dressing. This Asian inspired dressing requires just a few ingredients. You’ll need:

• Soy Sauce
• Rice Vinegar
• Sesame Oil – sesame oil has a distinctive taste and adds a lot of flavor to Asian-inspired recipes.
• Sugar
• Garlic – I use two cloves but you can measure this with your heart.
• Ginger – I like to use a microplane grater to finely grate ginger. You can also use a knife to finely mince the ginger.
• Chili Crunch – also known as chili crisp or chili oil crunch. It is a combination of chili peppers, oil, and a few other ingredients. I like to buy mine at Trader Joe’s but you can also find it in the Asian section of your grocery store.
• Sesame Seeds
• Green Onions

Place all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and whisk to combine.

Assembling the Salad:

Once the dressing is made, and the cucumbers have been salted, rinsed and drained, it is time to assemble the salad.

Toss the spiral cut cucumbers with the dressing, then toss to coat. Garnish with additional green onions or sesame seeds for garnish. You can either serve immediately or allow the cucumber salad to chill in the refrigerator for an hour or two so that the flavors can meld together. I recommend doing this for the best result.

Mini Cucumbers vs. Persian Cucumbers

This recipe calls for mini cucumbers or Persian cucumbers. There are slight variations between them but they can be used interchangeably in this recipe.

In general, mini cucumbers and Persian cucumbers a crisp and have a mild, slightly sweet flavor. Persian cucumbers are usually just a bit sweeter than mini cucumbers.

More Cucumber Recipes

I hope you enjoy this Spiral Cucumber Salad. If you’re looking for more cucumber recipes, here are a couple of options!

• Cucumber Sandwiches
• Creamy Cucumber Salad

If you try this recipe, or any of my recipes, please let me know what you think. I love to hear from you!