The Quick & Easy Salad I Serve All Summer Long

The last time I was in Denver, I visited one of my (now) favorite restaurants, Uncle. I had this incredible sweet and spicy cucumber salad that I knew I just had to recreate.

Unlike some cucumber salads which are mostly vinegar and sesame oil, this one leaned heavily into the gochujang and I was here for it. After trialing a few versions of this recipe, I landed on one that tastes just like the salad I sampled at Uncle.

The gochujang dressing is thick and tangy, with a hint of spice that’s so perfect with the cucumbers. The whole salad takes 20 minutes to make and only gets better the longer it sits. Serve it up at your next summer BBQ for a light and fresh veggie side dish.

Helpful Cooking Tools

• Mandoline or Sharp Knife
• Mixing Bowl
• Cutting Board
• Colander

Recipe Ingredients

You can find the full list of ingredients, quantities, and method in the recipe card at the end of the page.

• Cucumbers. I suggest using Persian or baby cucumbers, which have a much thinner skin than English cucumbers and practically no seeds.
• White onion. Go ahead and use your mandoline to slice the onion very thinly too. You want it to flavor the salad without any big chunks of onion sneaking in.
• Gochujang paste. A type of Korean chili paste that’s both spicy and smoky. There’s really no good substitute for it since it’s the star ingredient! (You can use the leftover gochujang to make Gochujang Glazed Salmon.)
• Gochugaru chili flakes. Taste much less spicy than crushed red pepper flakes. They’re a little fruity and a little smoky — hard to describe, but they’re so good!
• Ginger and garlic. Use fresh aromatics for the most vibrant flavor.
• Soy sauce. Just 1 tablespoon adds depth to the dressing as well as seasoning.
• Rice vinegar. Sometimes labeled as “rice wine vinegar” (not to be confused with actual rice wine).
• Sesame oil. If you have toasted sesame oil on hand, use it! It will provide an even deeper sesame flavor.
• Honey. We’ve got a lot of spicy, smoky, and savory flavors going on, so we need a little sweetness to balance everything out.

How to Make Korean-Style Cucumber Salad (with Tips!)

1. Slice the cucumbers. Aim for a thickness of about 1/4 to 1/8 inch (a mandoline makes this so much easier).
2. Crisp up the cucumbers. I know, I know, cucumbers are already crunchy, right? But when you sprinkle the sliced cucumber with kosher salt and let it sit for 10 minutes before rinsing with tap water, their excess moisture is drawn out and they become extra crunchy.