Pickled Ginger Cucumber

What makes this Pickled Ginger Cucumber dish so fantastic is just how easy it is to make. There’re only a few very easy steps to follow to produce an amazing tasting dish that serves as a delicious side that will pair perfectly with homemade Asian cuisine. The Cucumbers are lightly pickled in Vinegar and paired with a rich flavor of Sesame Oil, Garlic, and Ginger to create a tasty and healthy meal with very little effort at all

How to make Pickled Ginger Cucumber

What’s great about this dish is there is no cooking involved. The only ‘cooking’ as such, is the pickling which is allowing the Cucumber to sit in Vinegar to take on those wonderful, pickled qualities. The whole dish will take about 1 hour and 15 minutes, however, with much of that time requiring absolutely no effort at all. So, you can prepare the dish and simply leave it until it’s time to eat!

The first step in making this tasty Side Dish is to prepare the Cucumbers. You can use any type of Cucumber you like, and it may be fun to try different Cucumbers to see how the final flavor varies slightly

First, remove the seeds from the Cucumber. This is done by slicing the Cucumber down the center to create two equally long strips. Then simply scoop out the seeds from the center of the Cucumber using a teaspoon. You can also carefully cut them out with a butter knife if you like

We remove the Seeds purely to remove excess moisture from the Cucumbers. Naturally, Cucumbers are loaded with water, and for this dish to shine the goal is to get as much water as possible out of the Cucumbers. So, remove those seeds

Salting the Cucumber to remove remaining excess water

With the Cucumbers now deseeded the next step is to cut them into bite-sized pieces. I like to cut them down the center again to create long strips, and then simply dice them into chunks. You can cut them any way you like, but as this dish is served as a side, having the pieces in easy bite sizes works best

Then throw the Cucumber pieces into a Colander or Strainer and sprinkle them with about 1 tbsp. of Salt. It may seem excessive, but the Salt serves a key purpose to remove excess water from the Cucumber. Mix them through then sit the Colander / Strainer over the sink and leave it for 1 hour

During this time the Salt will extract liquid from the Cucumber, and you’ll notice it all dripping out of the bottom of the Colander. You’ll be surprised at just how much Water is removed in this time. In doing so, we are concentrating the flavor of the Cucumber, which has a remarkable impact on the final taste of the Pickled Ginger Cucumber dish

Adding some wonderful Asian-inspired flavors to the Cucumber

Remove the Cucumber pieces and pat them dry with a paper towel as there’ll likely be residual water stuck to them. Then, place the Cucumber into a mixing bowl and add White Sugar, Rice Wine Vinegar, Sesame Oil, finely julienned Ginger, and grated Garlic

This will be the final step of the dish, and once the dish is left for about 15 – 20 minutes it will be ready to serve. The combination of flavors is classically Asian, with a combination of Japanese and Chinese ingredients that come together harmoniously in this wonderful dish

When we made the Pickled Ginger Cucumber we cut the Ginger pieces into very fine strips, known as ‘Julienned’. Preparing the Ginger this way is great, as they are still very easy to eat, but have a nice crunch and texture to them, which really showcases the Ginger as a star ingredient in the dish

If you prefer you can peel the Ginger and simply grate it into the bowl with the Cucumber, which is what we do for the Garlic. The flavors will still be there, and you’ll still get some lovely crunch from the raw Cucumber in the bowl

We are aggressive with our use of Sesame Oil in this dish too, with 1 tbsp. of it being added. I find the pronounced flavor of Sesame Oil pairs so well with Ginger and Cucumber, and helps to cut through the sharpness of the Vinegar

The Vinegar adds the pickling characteristics to the dish

Speaking of Vinegar, it’s a key ingredient in the dish as it pickles the Cucumber. As with any pickling, the longer you allow the ingredients to sit in the Vinegar, the more pronounced and sharp the flavors will be. We find that 15 minutes in Rice Wine Vinegar is more than enough to begin that pickling process, without completely overwhelming the dish

If you want a very sharp-tasting dish, then leave it for about 30 minutes before serving. This may be worthwhile if you’re looking to pair the Pickled Ginger Cucumber with some heavily fatty, rich food like Roast Pork or Peking Duck

We use Rice Wine Vinegar and the results were amazing. You can swap it out for other Vinegars like White Wine Vinegar or even White Vinegar. Just be aware that different Vinegar can be milder or stronger than others. For instance, White Vinegar is quite strong, so I’d suggest using a little less

Serving

The good news is that after 15 minutes of the Cucumber sitting in the sauce, they’re ready to serve. There’s nothing else you need to do. For best results aim to serve the dish at room temperature, as you’ll get the best flavor from the Cucumber this way

The dish can be paired with so many great meals, Asian or otherwise. We enjoyed this dish with our tasty Ginger and Scallion Poached Chicken and it tasted great. You can really eat this with anything you like, but I’d suggest serving it as a side and pairing it with a main course for the best results

Ginger Scallion Cucumber Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 Cucumber
• 1 tbsp. Salt
• 1 tbsp. White Sugar
• 1 ½ tbsp.. Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1 tbsp. Sesame Oil
• 1-inch piece of Ginger, peeled and julienned
• 3 Garlic Cloves, peeled and minced
  
  

Instructions

1. Cut the Cucumber in half lengthwise then scoop out the seeds using a teaspoon then cut into bite-sized pieces.
2. Place Cucumber pieces into a colander or strainer and coat with Salt. Mix through then sit for 1 hour over the sink to drain off excess water
3. Pat dry then place into a bowl and mix with Sugar, Rice Wine Vinegar, Sesame Oil, Ginger, and Garlic
4. Let sit for about 15 minutes before serving
   
   

Recipe Notes

• You can replace the Rice Wine Vinegar with White or White Wine Vinegar
• The longer you allow the Cucumber to sit in the Vinegar, the stronger the flavor will become
  
  

The flavors and texture achieved in this wonderful Pickled Ginger Cucumber dish is truly amazing. The combination of Ginger, Garlic, and Sesame Oil makes for a wonderful dressing. This dish a fantastic Side that’s so versatile, pairing with so many recipes from all kinds of cuisines

If you like this recipe then we highly recommend you check out some of these other tasty Side Dishes of ours:

• Fried Halloumi Cubes
• Caramelized Kabocha Squash
• Roast Garlic Confit
• Spicy Celery Stir Fry
  
  

Happy Cooking!