Korean Cucumber Salad (5 Min)

5 from 1 vote

Bold, lightly spicy Korean cucumber salad (Oi Muchim) with crisp cucumbers, sesame, and rice vinegar. Use gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes) for authentic flavor - or good swaps. Ready in 5 min.

Prep Time5

Total Time5

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Korean

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings (change as needed):

Author: Cheryl Avrich

Ingredients

1 English cucumber, Note 1 (or 5-6 mini Persian cucumbers)
1 green onion (or 2 if small and thin)

Dressing

2 teaspoons gochugaru, Note 2 (or more to taste)
2 teaspoons sugar (or honey or maple syrup)
2 teaspoons sesame seeds (+ more for garnish if you like)
2 teaspoons sesame oil (or more to taste)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar (or use apple cider vinegar or white vinegar)

Optional

1 teaspoon minced garlic (1 clove)
1 teaspoon soy sauce (Omit for gluten-free. Replace with fish sauce for more umami.)
¼ teaspoon kosher salt (I add this)

Instructions

MAKE DRESSING: Mix all dressing ingredients in a large bowl with a spoon - adding any of the optional ingredients you like - I usually add salt and garlic. (Once combined with the cucumbers, you will adjust the flavors to your taste).
2 teaspoons gochugaru, Note 2, 2 teaspoons sugar, 2 teaspoons sesame seeds, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
SLICE CUCUMBER AND CHOP GREEN ONION: Use a small knife to slice the cucumber, about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. You can cut them thinner but they will soften (with less crunch) more quickly. Finely chop the green onion.
COMBINE & SERVE: Add the cucumber and onion to the dressing. Toss, taste and add more seasoning to your taste (heat, vinegar, salt, sesame oil, etc). I like it cold so I refrigerate it for 10-15 minutes but it's not essential. Sprinkle a few extra sesame seeds on top before serving if you like.

Notes

Cucumbers: Buy thin skinned cucumbers (no peeling needed) and without seeds. English, Persian and pickling cucumbers work well. If the cucumbers have watery seeds in the middle, cut cucumber in half and scoop out seeds.
Gochugaru swaps:
- Closest substitute for taste and texture is Aleppo pepper flakes (a common Turkish, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean spice). 1:1 swap.
- Best pantry substitute is 3 parts sweet paprika to 1 part cayenne pepper. For 2 tsp of gochugaru, you need 1.5 teaspoons of sweet paprika and 0.5 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- Most convenient substitute (use in a pinch) is red pepper flakes (use half the amount or 1 tsp).
- Powder form of gochugaru: Use about half the amount of the flakes (1 tsp) or more to taste.
Recipe variations
- Cucumber presentation: smash the cucumbers instead of slicing them. Slice off ends and use a rolling pin or the flat side of a heavy knife to smash it (you can place ti in a plastic bag to prevent splattering). Then then rip cucumber into smaller pieces if needed. This allows more absorption of the dressing. Here's a video on how to smash cucumbers.
- Extra color and crunch: add matchstick carrots
- Festive garnish: add pomegranate seeds
- Fusion twist: replace the guchogaru with chili crisp (skip the sesame oil), which is similar to the dressing for our Asian coleslaw.
- Non-spicy version (Oi Namul): Eliminates the red pepper flakes entirely for a mild, tangier salad. You can omit the sugar, too, if you like.
How to pre-salt the cucumbers: Slice cucumber, sprinkle with 1/2 tsp kosher salt, place in colander and let sit for 20-30 minutes. Quickly rinse then dry well with paper towels. Note: If making the same day, there isn really no need to pre-salt the cucumbers. I don't.
Make ahead: For maximum crunchiness, it's best to add the dressing 15 minutes before serving (even 30 minutes is fine). The longer the sliced cucumbers sit in the dressing, the more watery and soggier they will become (but they will still taste great).

Nutrition values are estimates and don't include optional ingredients.