Din Tai Fung Cucumber Salad Recipe

TJ Lee's Taiwanese Cucumber Salad

overhead photo of cucumber salad with dressing, chili flakes, sesame seeds in white bowl. small bowl of sesame seeds in bottom right. glass of lychee soda in top left. black, white and gold napkin and chopsticks — Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Styling: Jesse Szewczyk; Prop Styling: Andie McMahon

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When it comes to a lot of Asian cuisines, there's always something nice and crunchy and cold on the side during lunch or dinner. In Korean food there's pickled radish, in Vietnamese cooking there's daikon and carrots, and in Taiwanese cuisine we have pickled cabbage and this cucumber salad.

There's a very popular restaurant in Taiwan called Din Tai Fung, where people go get soup dumplings, and one of the little appetizers they serve is a crisp cucumber salad. I love the restaurant and recommend it to friends who visit Taiwan and knew I wanted to recreate the dish one day.

The ingredients for it are quite simple — rice vinegar and mirin all mixed together with sesame oil, chili oil, and lots of minced garlic — and the salad can easily be made ahead. It's super refreshing and is especially great to have with meals like hot pot.

Credit: Photo: Joe Lingeman; Food Styling: Jesse Szewczyk; Prop Styling: Andie McMahon

Rice vinegar and mirin are flavor stand-outs in this crunchy, cold salad.

egg-free
dairy-free
kidney-friendly
fish-free
peanut-free
low-potassium
vegetarian
shellfish-free
pork-free
pescatarian
tree-nut-free
soy-free
wheat-free
red-meat-free

Per serving, based on

servings. (% daily value)

Calories 55
Fat 1.8 g (2.8%)
Saturated 0.3 g (1.4%)
Carbs 8.0 g (2.7%)
Fiber 0.5 g (2.1%)
Sugars 5.4 g
Protein 0.7 g (1.4%)
Sodium 160.1 mg (6.7%)

Ingredients

5
Persian cucumbers (about 1 pound total)
1/2 teaspoon
kosher salt
3 cloves
garlic
1/4 cup
rice vinegar
2 tablespoons
mirin
2 tablespoons
granulated sugar
2 teaspoons
toasted sesame oil
1 to 2 teaspoons chili crisp, such as Lao Gan Ma (optional)
1 teaspoon
white sesame seeds

Instructions

Trim and cut 5 Persian cucumbers crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Place in a strainer set over or a bowl or in the sink, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and toss to combine. Let sit for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, make the marinade.
Mince 3 garlic cloves (2 teaspoons) and place in a small bowl. Add 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons mirin, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon to 2 teaspoons chili crisp if desired. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
When the cucumbers are ready, rinse under cold running water. Pat dry with towels. Place the cucumbers in a large zip-top bag and add the marinade. Seal the bag. Lay the bag flat in the refrigerator so the cucumbers sit in a single layer. Let the cucumbers marinate at least 4 hours or up to overnight, flipping the bag halfway through.
To serve, remove the cucumbers from the marinade and stack cut-side up on a serving plate. Garnish with 1 teaspoon white sesame seeds.

Recipe Notes

Storage: Leftover cucumber salad can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

TJ Lee

Contributor

TJ — also known as CupofTJ — shares her travel experiences, home cooking, and food reviews with more than 450,000 subscribers on YouTube and 460,000 followers on TikTok. Her food is inspired by both her globetrotting adventures (she's traveled to 40-plus countries so far), her Taiwanese roots, and favorite restaurants. She's also a proud cat mom to two fostered pets, Mochi and Sesame.

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