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 wanted to love this, but the fish taste was SO strong! I cook with fish sauce a lot and have never had a problem with it being overpowering in a dish so I’m not sure why exactly the taste was so strong when I made this. I would make again because the rest of the ingredients are delicious, but without the fish sauce.
This has been my go-to salad that I serve with many Indian curries/dals like chickpeas masala, black lentil dal, or even cauliflower-potato stir fry. I omit the fish sauce and don’t change anything else in the recipe. It’s a hit every time. So easy to whip up that even my teenage daughter loves to make it.
Great summer salad! Very easy and tasty. Goes well with Grilled Thai Curry Chicken Skewers with Coconut Peanut sauce or Vietnamese Style Meatballs with Chili Sauce. I highly recommend both of these dishes as well.
I only used 1 Tbs. of fish sauce, but it was perfect! I loved this recipe. Thank you!
To me cilantro tastes like soap. Do you think dill could be substituted?
Hi Allise, I would use basil instead of cilantro or just omit the herbs. Hope that helps!
Same!!! I was thinking Italian parsley as a sub for cilantro but will try this with basil!
This salad is absolutely delicious. The combination of onions, peanuts and cilantro with the cucumbers makes for a great crunchy, chewy, refreshing salad. The sauce is perfect. Altogether, it is addictive. Thank you for creating this and sharing it with us.
This is a super simple yet lovely salad. I believe I will make this many, many times. Thank you so much for sharing it!
I adore this recipe. While it’s best fresh, I make a huge batch and eat it over the next few days. Seeing all those onions may look scary to anyone who doesn’t love them, but the cold water method really does take down the bite. I make this about once a month.
I’ve made this salad twice and both times have been a hit. I omitted the jalapeno pepper and did not cut out the seeds from the cucumbers (since they were so small anyhow), and the recipe was still a success. I plan on making it many times more in the upcoming summer months.
I made this and my family liked it. It felt fresh and clean and will make a great summer addition to our meals. Thanks.
I’ve made this salad WEEKLY since finding it last summer. It’s, without a doubt, the best tasting cucumber salad I’ve ever made. I add extra fish sauce–I love the flavor. I also use a Thai red or green chile, chopped fine and added to the dressing. One of my MANY favorite recipes’s of Jenn’s.