Korean smacked cucumber salad
The side salad of your dreams
No cucumbers were harmed in the making of this Korean smacked cucumber salad… except they kind of were. More on that in a sec.
The gochujang is back, and honestly? I’m not even sorry. If you’ve got a tub kicking about in the fridge, you’re gonna want to use it for this. If you’re new here, check out my gochujang butter cabbage and gochujang chicken salad too. Yes, I may have bought the world’s biggest tub, but it’s genuinely one of the most flavour-packed ingredients I’ve ever used. Spicy, sweet, funky — it brings everything to life, including this beauty of a side dish.
This 15-minute salad is big on texture and big on punchy flavour. Along with the gochujang and smacked cucumbers, we’ve got chilli crisp oil, seasoned black rice vinegar, sesame oil, honey, furikake and roasted salted peanuts for crunch. It might sound like a wild flavour party, but trust me—it honestly works.
What to serve it with?
This is the ultimate refreshing, spicy side for anything rich or meaty. Try it with:
Grilled chicken or tofu
Sticky pork belly
Rice bowls
Even a cheeky BBQ burger if you’re feeling fusion-y
Why are the cucumbers “smacked”?
Smacking the cucumbers (with the flat side of a knife or rolling pin) helps break them open, so all that tangy, spicy dressing soaks in properly. It also gives them a rougher texture that holds onto the sauce better than neat, uniform slices. Smack ’em, salt ’em, let ’em sit—and get ready for your new favourite cucumber dish.
Find so many more recipes right here!
Korean smacked cucumber salad
By Poppy Cooks
https://www.poppycooks.com/recipes/korean-smacked-cucumber-salad/
Ingredients
- 1 large whole cucumber
- 2 tsp gochujang
- 1 tsp chilli crisp oil
- 2 tsp seasoned black rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp honey
- 2 tsp furikkake seasoning
- 50g roasted salted peanuts, roughly chopped
Metric
Imperial
Instructions
- Use a rolling pin to smack the cucumber down so it splits but still keeps some large chunks. Use a spoon to scrape out the wet middles of the cucumber. Cut any really large chunks into irregular sizes and pop everything into a large bowl.
- Mix together all of the remaining ingredients in a bowl. Tip out any juices from the cucumber that collect at the bottom of the bowl and discard (drink it - cucumber juice is DELISH!). Pour all of the sauce over the cucumber and give it a really good stir to combine.
- You can eat this straight away but it gets better if it's left to marinate for a few hours.