This dim sum cucumber salad is a copycat recipe from the popular Din Tai Fung restaurant. Fresh, crisp cucumbers get a flavourful twist with a salty, sour dressing with just the right amount of spice. A few simple tweaks make this a quick and easy appetizer or side dish to your Asian favourites, including ground chicken rice bowls, and hibachi style steak.
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Why This Recipe Works
A healthy appetizer! These cucumbers are fresh and light, but still full of flavour! They make a fantastic snack, too!
Tastes just like the restaurant! This recipe has a few tweaks to make it more time effective to make. With that being said, this recipe tastes very much the same as the restaurant version!
Well-rounded flavours! The dressing is perfectly balanced with the right amount of spice, sour, and salt. Each bite of cucumber is a flavour bomb!
Ingredients
- Persian cucumbers: Persian cucumbers are smaller in size, with a smooth and thin skin and tender seeds. They are similar to English cucumbers, but smaller in size.
- Fresno chillies: Fresno chillies are a little bit spicier than jalapeño peppers. They have a smokey, fruity flavour to them which is perfect for this dressing.
- Soy sauce: I recommend using light soy sauce for this dressing, as it adds the right amount of saltiness. Dark soy sauce is more preferable when you are looking for colour, over salty flavour.
- Rice wine vinegar
- Sesame oil
- Granulated sugar
- Fresh garlic
A full list of ingredients with measurements is located on the recipe card, below.
Instructions
Prep Work Before Cooking
Collecting all your ingredients - This will make cooking so much easier. Gather all the spices you will need, and keep them nearby.
Prep the cucumbers - Cut the cucumbers into bite-sized slices. If using a Persian or English cucumber, you do not need to peel the cucumber.
Chop the garlic and chillies - Finely mince the garlic and chilli.
Place the cucumbers in a colander. Liberally sprinkle salt on the cucumbers, and let the cucumbers sit for 5-10 minutes to draw out the excess moisture.
While the cucumbers are sitting, mix together the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
Rinse the cucumbers under cold water in the colander, and shake off the excess water.
Toss the cucumbers with the mixed dressing, let the cucumbers sit for at least 30 minutes.
Expert Tip
Control the heat of the dressing by removing seeds from the chillies if you prefer a milder dressing, or keeping them in for a hit of spice.
Substitutions
- Persian cucumbers: You can use english cucumbers, or mini cucumbers if you can find them.
- Fresno chilli: Substitute with red jalapeño, or thai red chillies if you like spice. The traditional recipe for these cucumbers uses chilli oil instead of minced chillies. If you want to go the traditional route, you can use chilli oil instead.
- Rice wine vinegar: White vinegar will work in place of rice wine vinegar.
- Granulated sugar: Feel free to use honey in place of granulated sugar.
Variations
- Traditional: You will notice that the restaurant version of these cucumbers has a smooth sauce, with no visible chunks. If you want to have that smooth version of the dressing, I recommend steeping the garlic and chilli in the liquid ingredients for 30 minutes to an hour, prior to dressing the cucumbers.
- Mild: You can omit the chillies altogether for a milder version of this salad.
Equipment
This is what I used to make this recipe - Please be mindful that different equipment and cooking utensils may yield varying results. Most of my favourite equipment can be found on my storefront.
- Colander
- Mixing bowl
Make Ahead & Storage
Make Ahead Instructions
You can make the dressing for the cucumbers as far as 5 days in advance. The longer the ingredients steep in the dressing, the more flavourful it will be.
I recommend salting and preparing the cucumbers up to 1 day in advance of when you plan to serve the salad, so they are full of flavourful with a good amount of crunch still.
Storing Leftovers
Store leftover cucumbers for 1-2 days in an airtight container in the fridge. If you prepared the cucumbers in advance of the day you served them, I recommend only keeping leftovers for 1 day.
Recipe FAQs
Din Tai Fung is a popular Taiwanese restaurant, that has opened several locations on the west coast of the United States. They are known for their dim sum style menu, including these cucumbers and their garlic green beans.
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Dim Sum Cucumber Salad {Din Tai Fung Copycat}
Ingredients
- 6 Persian cucumbers cut in bite-sized chunks
- 1 ½ teaspoon Sea salt
- 1 Fresno chilli minced
- 1 tablespoon Rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Sesame oil
- 2 Garlic cloves minced
- ½ tablespoon Granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Soy sauce
Equipment
Instructions
- Salt the cucumbers: Place the cucumbers in a colander. Liberally sprinkle salt on the cucumbers, and let the cucumbers sit for 5-10 minutes to draw out the excess moisture.6 Persian cucumbers, 1 ½ teaspoon Sea salt
- Prepare dressing: Mix together the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.1 Fresno chilli, 1 tablespoon Rice wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon Sesame oil, 2 Garlic cloves, ½ tablespoon Granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon Soy sauce
- Rinse cucumbers: Rinse the cucumbers under cold water in the colander, and shake off the excess water.
- Marinate cucumbers: Toss the cucumbers with the mixed dressing, let the cucumbers sit for at least 30 minutes.
Notes
- You will notice that the restaurant version of these cucumbers has a smooth sauce, with no visible chunks. If you want to have that smooth version of the dressing, I recommend steeping the garlic and chilli in the liquid ingredients for 30 minutes to an hour, prior to dressing the cucumbers.
- Control the heat of the dressing by removing seeds from the chillies if you prefer a milder dressing, or keeping them in for a hit of spice.
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