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.
You may also like
- Thai Quinoa Salad with Fresh Herbs and Lime Vinaigrette
- Thai Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing
- Asian Kale Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing
- Warm Asparagus Salad with Almonds & Ginger-Sesame Vinaigrette
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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I just did it right now…: n was so good !! With grilled churrasco(skirt) gone!!
This was so yummy; love the crunch of the peanuts and the flavour of the dressing is divine! Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do with the pulp/seeds?? Or if a person was serving it immediately is it nec to scoop out? Thanks!
Hi! I like to make cucumber ice cubes with the leftover pulp/seeds! They get used in ice water or gin based cocktails…so very yum and guests are usually quite impressed! I place the pulp/seeds in a liter jar, add water to fill to the top, close the jar and let it sit for 24 hrs. That infusion then gets strained, poured into ice cube trays and frozen. Too easy!
Great idea, Jeannine- thanks for sharing!
I’m in the middle of making the salad and discovered I don’t have vegetable oil. I do have olive oil and avocado oil. Would either of those work in the dressing? Many thanks in advance.
Hi Jennifer, I think avocado oil would be your best bet here. Hope you enjoy!
This recipe is fantastic and great to serve with meat /chicken to cut the fat and “lighten things up.” Very easy to make. I particularly like it as a summer dish.
This was different for me. I love lime and letting the onions and cucumber soak it up and blend together. I’ve made this a few times and enjoy it every time. Sometimes I will make the sauce even if I only have cucumbers and jalapeno 🙂
Jenn,
I really enjoyed this salad a great deal. The crunch of the peanuts and the cilantro complement the cucumbers and dressing. I have noticed that you use fish sauce in a number of recipes and I thought I might have a problem finding it, but, alas, my grocery store had it right next to the soy sauce. I also loved your tip about the red onions. Soaking them took out the “bite” that they can have and I would recommend readers doing that. All in all, a delightful recipe. I have tried a number of your recipes and find them to be “spot on”…keep up the good work!
Tasty but quite ephemeral. Won’t make it again. Thanks anyway.
Everything is ephemeral….
Hi-Taking this to BBQ- better to bring dressing seperately and dress before serving? Afraid to let it sit for several hours in dressing …
Yes Jill, this definitely tastes best if you dress it shortly before serving it.
Brought it to the beach w/dressing separately –big hit! Thank you!
This was fantastic! I used dry jalapeño and about a half a tablespoon of Splenda and it was perfect. Thanks for this recipe!
I came across this dish and decided to make it tonight with the ingredients I had on hand. I used green onions instead of the red onion, and instead of any chilis, a couple of shakes of some hot sauce. I also garnished with a tiny bit of chopped mint at the very end.
Served this as an appetizer only dinner, with vegetable spring rolls, and fried pork dumplings.
I have some leftover, which I will have with chicken tomorrow. 🙂