Thai Cucumber Salad

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I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but once upon a time I did a semester abroad in Thailand – and that was the most delicious semester of my life.

Sometimes I want nothing more to fly out and land back in Thailand, eating my way from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, but then I think about my collection of high-waisted tight skinny jeans and think that their must be a better way.

Thus this delightful salad.

PS: The dressing is also great with grated jicama, spiralized zucchini, shredded cabbage or even on julienned carrots.

Ingredient Notes…

Fish sauce is the Thai ingredient. If something is delicious, and Thai (with that delectable and somewhat unidentifiable umami funk), then it has fish sauce in it. What is fish sauce? Fish sauce is made of salted fish, such as anchovies, that have been fermented for up to 2 years and can be found in pretty much any major grocery store as well as all Asian markets.

Coconut Sugar is what I generally use for this recipe, but you can be even more authentic by using palm sugar. Both sugars are less sweet than white sugar and have a rich, subtle, caramelly flavor. They also can be substituted with brown sugar, but if so you might want to reduce the overall quantity.

Sambal Oelek is a ground chili paste that is very commonly found in most grocery stores as well as Asian markets. This is the main “spice” part of the recipe so tread lightly. I love a little bit of heat so I use 1 teaspoon in this recipe and go up from there depending on my mood.

Lime Juice is the main ingredient and is obviously best fresh, but lime juice from a bottle can do well in a pinch.

Crushed Peanuts are the perfect fat source, textural addition, and overall ideal salad topper to this dish. If it is good enough for Pad Thai then it is good enough for this salad -and by good enough I mean amazing.

Best Served With…

I love this salad on the side of stir fry, with skewers, or tossed into a Vietnamese beef bowl.

Honestly sometimes I just order real pad thai from my favorite place and toss this together for a guilt-free side to cut the noodle intake down.

But first things first, don’t forget to serve with chopsticks. Asian food always tastes better with chopsticks.