Recipes with cucumber

Kishizu (Kuzukiri and Vegetables with Sesame Miso)

Kuzukiri starch noodles, wakame, sudare-fu, konjac, carrot, udo and cucumber are cut long and thin and arranged by color around a bowl of thick sesame and white miso sauce for dipping. Around Kaga in Ishikawa it was served at funerals and memorial services in place of sashimi, and the konjac is still sliced thin like raw fish. Each component is prepared its own way, so slippery noodles, springy konjac and crisp vegetables stay distinct on the plate.

Prep 40min Cook 20min 2 servings

Prep 12min Cook 8min 2 servings

Soba Sesame Salad (Chilled Buckwheat Noodle Sesame Dressing)

Cold soba, rinsed until the strands feel clean, gets a light coat of soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Cutting cucumber, carrot, and red cabbage as thin as the noodles lets each mouthful pick up vegetables and buckwheat together instead of leaving the cabbage in a heap at the bottom of the bowl. The salad tastes best the moment it is tossed; left sitting in the dressing, the noodles go soft and the flavor turns watery.

⚡ 20-Minute Recipes

⚡ 20-Minute Recipes 🥗 Lighter Meals

Korean Seasoned Sea Grapes Salad

Thin and wiry, kkosiraegi seaweed snaps cleanly between the teeth, a texture nothing like soft miyeok or kelp. Twenty seconds in boiling water is the limit, and an immediate plunge into cold water brings back the spring. Maesil-cheong, a sweet green plum syrup, gives the sour dressing a fruity note, and cucumber strips add a fresh, green aroma against the sea flavor. Served cold, it makes a refreshing summer side.

Prep 10min Cook 2min 4 servings

Prep 15min Cook 5min 2 servings

Oriental Soy Protein Noodle Salad

The only cooking in this salad is poaching a chicken breast, since soy protein noodles are ready once drained of their packing water and rinsed. The dressing of soy sauce, vinegar and olive oil gets its sweetness from allulose instead of sugar, which keeps it sharp and light. Baby greens go on last and stay perky as long as they are not tossed in early.

⚡ 20-Minute Recipes

Korean Soybean Sprout Cold Salad

A mustard dressing gives these sprouts a nose-tingling heat, softened by the sweet tartness of vinegar and sugar. Mustard mixed ahead of time develops a sharper pungency. Unlike the usual seasoned bean sprouts, this one is always served cold, and the chill makes both the mustard and the crunch more pronounced. Overcooked sprouts go soft and lose the snap the dish depends on. Because cucumber and carrot carry a lot of water, the cucumber is salted and pressed first to keep the sauce from going thin. Set beside fatty mains like samgyeopsal or bulgogi, it clears the palate.

Prep 15min Cook 6min 4 servings

Prep 18min Cook 7min 2 servings

Crown Daisy & Mung Bean Noodle Salad

Crown daisy, the herb sold as ssukgat in Korean markets, brings a grassy, faintly bitter note that the sweet-sour dressing of soy sauce, vinegar, and plum syrup balances. Mung bean glass noodles should come out translucent but still a little chewy; softer than that and they clump into a sticky mass once dressed. Cucumber and crown daisy shed water as they sit, so the salad gets tossed right before it reaches the table.

Lotus Root Crab Yuja Salad

Crisp blanched lotus root and chunky crab sit together in a yuja mayonnaise, two textures that stay distinct when each is handled gently. Yuja marmalade, made from a fragrant Korean citron, brings sweetness and a floral citrus note that lighten the mayonnaise, and a little lemon juice sharpens it further. Thin red onion spends a moment in cold water first so its bite does not drown out the yuja. The salad is piled onto baby greens and served cold.

Prep 20min Cook 8min 4 servings

Prep 15min Cook 10min 2 servings

Korean Ssukgat Perilla Bibim Somyeon

The slightly bitter scent of crown daisy, ssukgat, cuts through the nutty weight of perilla seed powder and keeps this soy-dressed somyeon lively without any chili heat. Plum syrup and vinegar add a light sweet-sour lift, and cold cucumber strips crunch between the thin noodles. Holding back part of the sauce before tossing leaves room to adjust once you see how much water the noodles carry.

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

With no stove involved, the chickpeas keep their mealy, slightly firm bite at the center of the bowl. The dressing is just red wine vinegar and olive oil, which lets the salty black olives and juicy cucumber each come through. Feta crumbled by hand and folded in only once or twice stays in small chunks, giving salty, creamy pockets. Scoop it up with pita or top it with grilled chicken to turn it into a meal.

Prep 12min 0 2 servings

Prep 15min Cook 12min 2 servings

Suttate (Chilled Sesame Miso Udon)

Toasted sesame, rice miso, shiso, onion, and cucumber are ground together in a mortar, then thinned with cold bonito stock into a dipping soup for chilled udon. It is a summer dish from Kawajima in Saitama, nutty from the sesame and cool from the shiso and cucumber. Bruising the sliced cucumber with the pestle lets its juice and aroma run into the base. The sesame is ground fine enough for its oil to seep out, which is where the nutty richness comes from. The cold stock is poured in gradually so the thick sesame-miso paste loosens without lumps.

⚡ 20-Minute Recipes 🥗 Lighter Meals

Mediterranean White Bean Salad

White beans are soft with a slightly floury bite, and here they carry the fullness of the salad between crisp cucumber and juicy tomato. There is no salt in the ingredient list; briny black olives and the lemon dressing do that job. Red onion is sliced very thin so its heat stays in the background. Cutting the cucumber and tomato to about bean size means each spoonful gets a bit of everything.

Prep 15min 0 2 servings

Prep 15min Cook 8min 2 servings

Korean Yeolmu Bibim Guksu

Young radish kimchi, yeolmu, and some of its brine are mixed into a tangy gochujang dressing for cold somyeon, letting the kimchi flavor lead rather than plain chili sweetness. Only half the kimchi is tossed with the noodles, and the rest sits on top so the stems stay crisp. Noodles that are not drained well leave the sauce pooling like water at the bottom of the bowl.

🥗 Lighter Meals 🍱 Lunchbox

Millet Herb Salad

Boiled millet fluffed with a fork separates into tiny, loose grains. Plenty of chopped parsley and mint go in, enough that the herbs, not the grain, lead the flavor. Because millet soaks up liquid fast, the lemon and olive oil dressing goes on just before serving to stop it from clumping. It holds up at room temperature, which makes it easy to pack for lunch.

Prep 20min Cook 18min 2 servings

Prep 15min Cook 10min 2 servings

Korean Young Radish Cold Noodles

The chilled broth comes from young radish kimchi brine, sharpened with vinegar and a touch of hot mustard that lingers after the sourness. Because the soup is meant to be drunk, temperature matters as much as seasoning, and even the toppings wait in the fridge. Thin somyeon absorbs the broth quickly, so bowls are filled right before they go to the table.

Mimiga Sashimi with Peanut Vinegar

Chewy-crunchy slices of pig's ear, crisp bean sprouts and cucumber get coated in a thick dressing of peanut butter, white miso and vinegar. Despite the word sashimi in the name, nothing is raw: the term refers to the vinegared dressing, and the ears are bought precooked and sliced.

Prep 20min Cook 5min 4 servings

Noodles Medium

Korean Yuja Chicken Cold Somyeon

Chicken breast and radish simmer gently into a clear stock, and yuja (citron) syrup stirred in once it is cold lays a sweet, fragrant citrus note over the savory chicken. The pot stays below a rolling boil for 15 minutes so the broth comes out clear, and nothing oily goes into it. The same chicken then gets shredded for the topping, making one ingredient do double duty as broth and garnish. Because the stock has to cool completely and chill, it gets started well before the noodles. The yuja syrup needs to dissolve fully in the cold broth, or its sweetness collects in one spot. Freezing part of the broth into ice cubes keeps the bowl cold without watering it down.

Prep 30min Cook 20min 4 servings

Water Parsley Shrimp Salad

Doenjang, Korean fermented soybean paste, is whisked into plain yogurt, and the result is a light, creamy dressing that keeps the paste's savory depth while softening its weight. Pan-seared shrimp bring a clean sweetness, and minari (Korean water parsley) adds a fresh, green aroma.

Prep 18min Cook 7min 2 servings

Prep 10min Cook 9min 2 servings

Korean Chilled Udon with Yuzu Soy Sauce

Yuja syrup and lemon juice brighten soy sauce and tsuyu, giving this chilled udon a fruitier, sweet-sour sauce than plain tsuyu. With the sauce already balanced by 220 ml water, any rinse water left between the strands dilutes it directly. Seaweed flakes and sesame turn soggy once they touch the sauce and go on only right before eating.

🥗 Lighter Meals 🍱 Lunchbox

Multigrain Salad

Chewy brown rice, plump barley, and soft lentils give three different bites in every spoonful. Each grain is cooked separately and cooled completely before mixing, since hot grains would wilt the vegetables. Instead of olive oil, the dressing uses perilla oil, a toasty Korean seed oil, with apple cider vinegar. Halved cherry tomatoes release juice that works as part of the sauce, while cucumber and red onion add crunch between the dense grains. Made ahead, it keeps its flavor and travels well in a lunchbox.

Prep 18min Cook 20min 4 servings

Noodles Medium

Korean Spicy Noodles with Beef Pancake

Every bite mixes two temperatures: warm, savory slices of egg-battered beef on top of cold, sweet-sour gochujang noodles. If the thin beef is floured while still damp, the egg coating lifts and slides off in the pan.

Prep 20min Cook 15min 2 servings

⚡ 20-Minute Recipes 🥗 Lighter Meals

Spicy Vinegared Octopus Muchim

Slicing cooked octopus thin and wide with the knife laid at a low angle shortens its tough fibers, so each piece chews easily. Cho-gochujang, gochujang sharpened with vinegar and sugar, coats it in a sour heat, while minari (Korean water dropwort) adds a fresh, herbal aroma and cucumber and onion bring crunch.

Prep 15min Cook 5min 2 servings

Noodles Medium

Zhajiangmian (Chinese Black Bean Paste Noodles with Ground Pork)

Chunjang black bean paste and ground pork cook down into a thick, waterless sauce, spooned over fresh noodles and tossed just before eating. With no added liquid, it catches on the pan quickly unless it reduces over low heat with constant stirring. Frying the chunjang first drives off its harsh raw smell and brings out a shine. Ground pork has to reach 71°C, not just lose its pink color. Crisp cucumber strips cool down the salty, dense sauce.

Prep 20min Cook 20min 2 servings