A Crunchy Cucumber Ribbon Salad
A cucumber ribbon salad is another beautiful way to serve humble cucumbers and only takes minimal work to prepare! Rice vinegar produces a slightly acidic dressing and honey adds a touch of sweetness which both balance with the freshness of the cucumbers. A sprinkle of sesame seeds completes this simple salad.
How to make cucumber ribbons?
Use a spiralizer to make ribbons, but if you don’t have one, a mandoline slicer will do the job, and you can also get the same effect with a vegetable peeler.
You can choose to peel the cucumbers first, but we like to leave them unpeeled as it adds extra colour to the salad and retains more nutrients.
How to avoid cucumber ribbons being watery
Cucumbers contain a high percentage of water at 96% and a good way to prevent your dish becoming watery is to toss the ribbons with a pinch of salt and leave it for about 20-30 minutes. The salt will extract the water making them extra crunchy, but we still recommend serving the salad immediately after assembling it.
Try also: Cucumber cups with salmon
Cucumber Ribbon Salad
EQUIPMENT (click pictures for details)
Ingredients
- 1 pc English cucumber
- 1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds
For the dressing
- 1 tsp honey
- 2 tsp rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp sesame oil
- ¼ tsp salt & white pepper
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients for the dressing.
- Wash the cucumber and make thin ribbons. Toss the ribbons in salt and leave for about 20 minutes to remove the water.
- Toss the cucumber ribbons with the honey dressing, refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Sprinkle the toasted white sesame seeds on top before service.
Nutrition for 1 portion
Highlights of cucumber ribbon salad
Cucumbers are a delicious and versatile vegetable. They are easy to grow in your own garden, and are refreshing when you need a quick pick-me-up in the hot sun. Almost every salad is made with slices of cucumber whether as part of the salad or garnishes on top.
But other than chunks or slices, many people just don’t know what to do with cucumbers to make them stand out. That’s where cucumber ribbons come in.
They are simple to make, yet look gorgeous in any salad. The ruffles of each cucumber ribbon are elegant and dainty. Mix them with other ribboned vegetables like carrots, and the two colours are beautiful on the plate. Add some sesame seeds to finish off a lovely looking salad or appetizer.
Finally, add a light dressing to the ribbons to complete the salad. And, if you are using olive oil, you might want to see our reviews on the best olive oil dispenser.