Turn Asian pickled cucumbers into a spicy salad to eat with rice. Korean chili flakes and a hint of sugar makes a delicious Korean side dish to serve with rice. It’s a great way to enjoy pickled cucumbers.

Pickled cucumber Salad garnished with green onion in a green bowl.

Summer in Korea is quite hot and humid.  People often complain that they lost their appetite and looking for something that spikes up their lost appetite.

Cool, crunch, and slightly spicy and sweet, this pickled cucumber salad can stimulate the lost appetite in the hot summer. This is one of very common summer Korean side dishes in any Korean table and it is very simple to make.

If you like fresh cucumber recipes, try my homemade cucumber kimchi, Korean Spicy Cucumber Salad and Quick Beef and Cucumber Stir-fry recipes. You will like the taste of those dishes.

Korean Pickled Cucumber

Pickled Cucumber is packed in brine package.

Look for air-vacuumed pickled cucumber in the refrigerate section of Korean stores. These cucumbers are pickled in simple salt, vinegar, sugar brine and ready to tackle with flavors you are going to add.

How to make pickled cucumber side dish

pickled cucumber is thinly sliced

Slice thinly.

Pickled Cucumber slices are soaked in water to remove extra brine.

You want to soak them in the cold water for 10 minutes to dilute the brine solution a little.

Pickled Cucumbers are squeezed out to remove the moisture.

Squeeze them to death, because you love her. But I don’t mean it literally. You know that, right?

Pickled Cucumbers and other salad ingredients are combined in a bowl.

Add the Korean chili flakes, sugar, sesame oil, garlic powder, green onion, and sesame seeds.

Pickled Cucumber Salad is hand tossed with Korean seasoning in a bowl.

Mix all together with your hand. That’s all there’s to it!

For some wicked reason many Koreans like to eat this pickled cucumber salad with leftover rice dumped in cold water. I know it sounds weird to dump the rice in the cold water, but it is actually pretty good to eat that way with this salad.

This was my simple lunch and I was happy. And so was my stomach.

Korean pickled cucumber side dish in a bowl.
Korean pickled cucumber salad in a dish.

Pickled Cucumber Side Dish

Turn Asian pickled cucumbers into a spicy salad to eat with rice. Korean chili flakes and a hint of sugar makes this simple side dish delicious and makes it a great way to enjoy pickled cucumbers.
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Ingredients

Instructions 

  • Soak the cucumber slices in cold water for 10 minutes to dilute the brine a little. Drain and squeeze out the excess water.
  • Place the cucumber slices in a mixing bowl, add the rest of the ingredient, and toss well. Adjust the amount of sugar according to the sweetness you desire. Serve with rice.
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