Japanese Cucumber Salad (Sunomono 酢の物)

A simple Japanese cucumber salad with minimal ingredients is a must-add to your side dish recipes. Cucumber sunomono is light, tangy, and incredibly refreshing. It takes less than 10 minutes to prep, and our recipe is sure to impress.

Why You’ll Love Sunomono

Simplicity is key with this recipe, and it’s what makes it so irresistible! I love it!

With just three ingredients in the dressing and one main vegetable, the flavours are refreshingly light yet delightful. I love the unassuming, crisp texture, tangy taste, and vibrant appearance.

This Japanese cucumber salad is versatile and perfect for any occasion, making it a popular side dish in Japanese homes.

Like many of our easy cucumber salad recipes, we love how quick and effortless this one is to prepare. You’ll find yourself coming back to it again and again. 

For more spicy Asian cucumber salad options, try our Korean cucumber salad or smashed cucumber recipe.  

What Is Sunomono?

Sunomono is a traditional Japanese side dish made with thinly sliced cucumbers marinated in a sweet and tangy vinegar dressing. The word “Su” (酢) means vinegar, and “mono” (物) refers to items, so sunomono translates to “vinegared things.”

Cucumbers are the most common ingredient in sunomono, but you can make your own variations by adding other ingredients like seaweed, carrots, burdock root, boiled octopus or imitation crab. We have made a combination of cucumber, seaweed and imitation crab which is delicious!

Ingredients

These are the ingredients you need for Japanese cucumber salad:

Cucumbers: Typically, you would use Japanese cucumbers for this recipe, but since we don’t have access to them, I use Persian cucumbers. They have thin skin and few seeds but still have a refreshing crunch. Be sure you pick the freshest cucumbers you can find. 

Salt: Used to draw out excess moisture from the cucumbers, enhancing their crunch.

Toasted sesame seed: Adds a nutty flavour and a bit of texture to the salad.

Rice vinegar: The key ingredient for the tangy and mildly sweet base of the dressing.

Sugar: Balances the acidity of the vinegar with a hint of sweetness.

Soy sauce: Quality light soy sauce is essential for sauces and dressings in your pantry. Provides a touch of umami depth to the salad, enhancing its overall flavour.

Variations and Substitutions

Cucumber options: You can substitute Persian cucumbers with continental or English cucumbers. If there are many seeds, remove them to avoid excess liquid in the salad.

Additional ingredients: It is quite common to add other ingredients to classic cucumber sunomono. Seaweed is a popular choice, as are boiled octopus, imitation crab, anchovies, or other vegetables like carrots and burdock root.

Gluten free option: If you need a gluten free salad, use tamari instead of soy sauce.

Instructions

Wash and thinly slice cucumbers using a mandoline or knife. 

In a bowl, add sliced cucumbers and sprinkle with salt. Leave for 5 minutes to extract the moisture from cucumbers.

Squeeze to remove excess water.

In a small bowl, mix dressing ingredients – rice vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce until sugar dissolves.

Toss cucumber with dressing.

Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds to serve.

Great Mains for This Salad

What to serve with Japanese cucumber salad?  Try these main dish recipes:

For light lunch enjoy this lovely okonomiyaki recipe that is also easy to make.

For some serious umami and you’re in the mood for some noodles, you can’t go past this miso ramen. And for a true vegetarian crowd pleaser, this tofu katsu curry will give you those comfort food vibes!

This Japanese cucumber salad pairs beautifully with many dishes. It complements Japanese classics like somen noodle salad, cold hiyayakko tofu dish or Japanese potato salad, and works well with non-Japanese mains too.

Frequently Asked Questions