Thai Cucumber Salad with Peanuts
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Peanuts add welcome crunch to this tangy and refreshing Thai cucumber salad.
This fresh and crunchy Thai cucumber salad adapted from Food & Wine is one of my favorite salad recipes. The juice from the cucumbers seeps into the tangy and sweet dressing, giving it a refreshing cucumber flavor, while the peanuts add protein and crunch. The salad is satisfying on its own for lunch, and it also pairs nicely with my grilled Thai curry chicken or honey lime sriracha chicken.
What you’ll need to make Thai cucumber salad with Peanuts
- The recipe calls for English/hothouse cucumbers, long, slender cukes with tender skin and tiny seeds. They’re a little pricier than garden variety cukes, but you can usually find them on sale in three-packs. Happily, they don’t need to be peeled, as they aren’t treated with a wax coating like regular cucumbers.
- Fish sauce is a salty, savory condiment often used in East Asian cuisine. It has a pungent smell, but when used in moderation, it adds rich umami flavor to sauces, marinades, and salad dressings. You can find it in the Asian food section of most supermarkets.
- Use good quality Virginia peanuts if you can find them. Grown primarily in Virginia (but also in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas), Virginia peanuts are large in size, flavorful, and extra crunchy. They are often referred to as “ballpark peanuts” because they are the kind sold at baseball games.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by placing the red onions in a bowl of cold water. Let them soak while you prepare the rest of the ingredients — this will mellow them out and rid them of that sharp, raw onion taste.
Next, seed the cucumbers by cutting the cucumbers it in half lengthwise and scooping out the seeds and the pulpy matter with a teaspoon.
Make the dressing by combining the lime juice, oil, fish sauce, sugar and garlic in a medium bowl.
Drain the onions, then add the sliced cucumbers, minced jalapeño, cilantro and peanuts to the bowl with the dressing.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
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Thai Cucumber Salad with Peanuts
Peanuts add welcome crunch to this tangy and refreshing Thai cucumber salad.
Ingredients
For the Salad
- ½ medium red onion, very thinly sliced
- 2 large English cucumbers, halved lengthwise, seeded and sliced crosswise ¼-inch thick
- ⅓ cup packed chopped fresh cilantro
- ½ cup salted peanuts
- 1 large jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced (or use 1-2 Thai chiles for more heat)
- ¼ teaspoon salt (optional)
For the Dressing
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice, from 2-3 limes
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1½ tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 garlic clove, minced
Instructions
- Place the onions in a small bowl of cold water. Let sit for ten minutes, then drain well and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Make the dressing: In a large bowl, whisk the lime juice, oil, fish sauce, sugar, and garlic.
- Add the drained red onions, cucumbers, cilantro, peanuts and jalapeño pepper to the dressing. Taste and add the salt if necessary. Serve the salad within 30 minutes.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 238
- Fat: 16g
- Saturated fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: 21g
- Sugar: 12g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 6g
- Sodium: 660mg
- Cholesterol: 0mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Lots of people are asking for a Fish Sauce substitute and you rightly steer them to their Supermarket (almost every one has it now) or an Asian Grocery… Ours just moved to another city!
It is my impression that in some recipes you can substitute Worcestershire sauce which is made from Anchovies – much as Fish Sauce is sometimes made from Anchovies also… Can Worcestershire be substituted? Thank you for this great recipe, I have 6 Persian cukes in the frig just waiting for this recipe! It will be great with BBQ’d meats.
Hi G.D., I don’t think there’s any perfect substitute for fish sauce, but you can definitely try it with Worcestershire or soy sauce (or a combination of the 2) as it adds similar salty and umami elements; it just won’t have the Thai flavor. If you try it this way, I’d love to know how it turns out!
what is Fish Sauce &I where do you get it?
Hi Rochelle, Fish sauce is a liquid extracted from the fermentation of fish and sea salt. It’s often used as a condiment in Thai and Vietnamese cuisines. It’s typically found in the international/Asian section of large supermarkets. If you can’t find it there, smaller Asian markets will carry it.
I made this for Mother’s Day 2016. It was a big hit! Fresh, not sickeningly sweet, great for vegetarians & non alike, pretty presentation. I would say 20 minute prep-time was overly optimistic; more like 30. It was my first time to use fish sauce, hydroponic cukes, & soaking red onions. A total keeper of a recipe! Many thanks!
With fish sauce, not such a great option for vegetarians.
absolutely terrific salad.
I happily stumbled across this recipe today while searching for a cooling cucumber recipe to offset our “appetizers for dinner” – potstickers, lettuce wraps and chicken satay skewers. Your Thai Cucumber Salad was the slam run hit of the evening. I made the mistake of only using one English cucumber for five people…..
Thank you for the recipe… I’ve shared it from your site and it will be a staple for us from here on….
Is there another kind of nut you would suggest. Peanuts cause my husband’s gout to flare up.
Thanks
Hi Elizabeth, I think cashews would work well.
I made this for a baby shower a few months ago and it was a huge hit! Refreshing and delish – i added the peanuts right before serving to maintain the crunch!
great you are the best
I made the Thai Cucumber salad as a side for a BBQ dinner. It was wonderful and garnered many compliments. I followed the recipe as written making the cucumber and vinaigrette ahead of time letting it marinate in the fridge. I added the peanuts at the last minute before serving. The peanuts will get soggy if there are leftovers but still tasty the next day.
can this be made ahead? or is it best to add dressing right before serving?
thank you!
Hi Ellen, you can definitely get away with making this ahead. Enjoy!
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