Sweet & Spicy Asian Cucumber Salad

This refreshing Asian cucumber salad is cooling and welcome any day of the summer. The dressing is a little spicy, salty and gingery, with a fresh garnish of cilantro and scallions. The result is a bright green dish that makes the most of summer’s produce bounty in a deliciously zesty way.

Tips for storing and slicing ginger

We love dressings full of minced ginger. This root adds an unexpected but lovely note of refreshment and spice to all veggies, cooked or raw. To keep your ginger the freshest, we recommend storing it in the freezer. The root will last for months in there, though once you start making this Asian cucumber salad, you’ll probably go right through your stash.

When it comes time to mince an inch or so of frozen ginger for this recipe or others, simply take the root out of the freezer and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. It defrosts quickly, so you can simply slice off the amount you need and return the rest to the freezer.

The next step is peeling. In fact, if you use a microplane, which is highly handy and one of my favorite kitchen tools, you don’t even need to remove the ginger peel. But, if you’re without such a fine grater, it’s still quite easy to remove the thin ginger skin. Simply use a regular spoon to scrape off the brown outer layer. This way, you’ll remove just the skin and avoid wasting much of the delicous flavor inside.

Spice up your Asian dressing

We complement the ginger flavor in our Asian dressing for this cucumber salad with a hit of chile garlic sauce. We like this brand. It’s great because it adds both spice and a nice garlicky boost. You may find yourself adding an extra spoonful or two to this Asian-inspired salad, and more of your favorite summer salads. It’s especially nice in this rainbow summer slaw!

The perfect cucumber salad for summer meals

This Asian cucumber salad is delicious alongside some of our other favorite vegan summer entrees:

• Smoky Beet Veggie Burgers
• Key Lime Cucumber Gin Cocktail – for any leftover cukes!
• Caprese Panini with Pesto and Avocado
• Balsamic Roasted Strawberry, Ricotta and Mint Toast

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