Thai Cucumber Salad

This refreshing Thai cucumber salad features red pepper, cashews and cilantro, covered in a vinaigrette made with Thai red curry paste.

Our garden started out strong this year, but by the time growing season was in full swing, aside from herbs all we’ve gotten are cucumbers! So before cucumber season is gone, here’s a recipe we whipped up on a whim one night: Thai cucumber salad! It’s slightly spicy from the red curry paste, and a wonderful jumble of textures with the crunchy cucumbers and cashews. It’s a lovely end of summer salad before we (gulp) say hello to squash and pumpkin spices.

How to make Thai cucumber salad

This Thai cucumber salad is very simple to make: the only time investment is chopping the vegetables! For the cucumbers, we like the look of peeling off alternating strips of cucumber skin and leaving small strips on: it makes for a fun variegated pattern! Here the cucumbers are seeded and then chopped into half moons. The other fresh ingredients to chop are bell peppers and cilantro. And if you don’t have a go to method for cutting, we have a few great video tutorials to help!

Video: How to cut a bell pepper

Are you wondering how to cut a bell pepper but not sure the best way? Alex and I use a genius method for cutting bell peppers that doesn’t end up with seeds all over the counter! (Anyone have that issue?) We use this method all the time, like with this Thai cucumber salad. Here’s our step by step guide for how to cut a bell pepper, including a video of me cutting bell peppers in our kitchen.

And aside from this, we also have a video on How to Cut Cilantro that shows an easy way to chop this herb as well.

Related: 20 Knife Skills Videos: How to Cut Everything!

A secret ingredient: Thai curry paste

Outside of chopping the vegetables, the only other thing to prepare for this Thai cucumber salad is the Thai curry vinaigrette! It’s a simple mix of white wine vinegar, peanut oil, and Thai red curry paste. Thai curry paste has beautifully fresh flavors: garlic, lemongrass, and ginger. Grab a jar from the store in the international aisle, and it keeps for months in the refrigerator. Some Thai curry pastes are spicy and some don’t have too much heat. Our favorite brand of Thai curry paste is Thai Kitchen, and it doesn’t add much heat to the overall dish. If you can’t find it at your local grocery, here’s a link to Thai Kitchen red curry paste on Amazon.

Cucumber salads from around the world

Alex and I love cucumber salads: it seems like each nation has their own version! Somehow along the way we’ve made four different versions of cucumber salad. Here are a few we’ve enjoyed:

Shepherd salad from Turkey features tomatoes, cucumbers, feta and olives, covered in a lemony vinaigrette.

Greek salad uses much of the same ingredients, but arranged in a flat layer on a plate.

Cucumber salad with sour cream is traditionally Polish, featuring shallots, dill and a sour cream dressing.

German cucumber salad features thinly sliced cucumbers and onions marinated in vinegar.

Want more with cucumbers? See Top Cool Cucumber Recipes.

This recipe is…

This Thai cucumber salad recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free.

clock clock icon cutlery cutlery icon flag flag icon folder folder icon instagram instagram icon pinterest pinterest icon print print icon squares squares icon Thai Cucumber Salad (2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

5 from 2 reviews Author: a Couple Cooks

a Couple Cooks Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 0 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 4 1 x Print Recipe Pin Recipe Description This refreshing Thai cucumber salad features red pepper, cashews and cilantro, covered in a vinaigrette made with Thai red curry paste. Scale 1x 2x 3x Ingredients 3 cucumbers

cucumbers 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

kosher salt 1 red pepper

red pepper 2 green onions

green onions ½ cup chopped cilantro, loosely packed

chopped cilantro, loosely packed 1 ½ tablespoons white wine vinegar

white wine vinegar 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil

peanut oil 2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste

Thai red curry paste ¼ to ⅓ cup cashew halves Instructions Peel the cucumbers in alternating strips. Cut them in half and scrape out the seeds with a spoon, then cut each half into crescent shapes. Season with ¼ teaspoon kosher salt and drain the slices in a colander while preparing the remainder of the salad. Then pat the slices dry with a paper towel. Dice the red pepper. Thinly slice the green onions. Roughly chop the cilantro. In a small bowl, whisk together the white wine vinegar. peanut oil, Thai red curry paste, and a few pinches of kosher salt. Place the vegetables in a bowl and pour over the dressing. Garnish with cashew halves. (Note: The salad is best served fresh. If prepared in advance, keep the cucumbers, cashews and dressing separate from other vegetables, then mix them together at the time of serving.) Category: Salad

Method: Raw

Cuisine: Thai Inspired Keywords: Thai cucumber salad, Cucumber Salad Recipe, Salad Recipes, Cucumber Recipes,

Looking for more salad recipes?

Outside of this Thai cucumber salad, here are a few more of our favorite salad recipes:

Subscribe for free weekly recipes & more! Email Instagram