Whilst not specifically Asian inspired, this cucumber and spring onion salad has elements from a classic Peking Duck dish, with both cucumber and spring onion, but not heavy with bold soy or sesame flavours. This salad is super easy to pull together at home, yet tasty, fresh and sharp.
Cucumber and Spring Onion Salad
Serving Suggestions
Serve as an amuse bouche, a side salad, or as part of a larger spread of dishes. The salad is light and bright and offers a great contrast to spicy, salty or heavy flavours. Try combining this dish with some of our other recipes listed below to make a Tofu Poke Bowl:
Garlic Basmati Rice
Vegan Mango Salad
Roasted Leeks
Asian Garlic Tofu
Raw Vegan Satay Dressing
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Ingredient Note | Substitution Note |
| Spring Onion | Spring onions give a fresh, herbaceous / fresh and alliaceous flavour to a dish – a bit of texture, it can add lots of brightness to rich dishes. | To substitute the herbaceous / fresh flavours, try herbs like parsley or coriander. To substitute the alliaceous flavour, try finely chopped raw red onion or (if in season) wild garlic. |
| Ginger | Ginger is a powerful ingredient – astringent, spicy, slightly sweet with a firm and woody texture. | For use in its raw form, you may wish to sub out the ginger for a less fiery and less firm textured – young ginger or ginseng). |
| Cucumber | Cucumber is a watery not very flavourful, so its function is freshness and texture. | Substitution for freshness and texture – daikon radish. |
| Orange | Orange is sweet and sour, fresh and amazingly citrusy. | To replace sweetness, look at honey or sugar, for sourness a small amount of apple cider vinegar or tamarind, for citrus and sourness try lime – if you can get it kalamansi is brilliant. |
| Salt | Salt tends to heighten the natural flavours of dishes as well as the salt content of the dish itself. The amount of salt you introduce to a dish is can affect the cooking and preparation of the dish, so it is important to consider at what stage one seasons the dish. Conventional wisdom is to season as you go and taste your food. | By replacing sea salt or plain salt, you can also introduce other flavour elements into a dish which can have remarkable benefits (or indeed throw your recipe into disarray!). Soy sauce or tamari can give a salty and umami flavour, whilst some pickles (for example, Japanese umeboshi – pickled or brined plum) can be intensely salty and introduce another sour flavour element. |
Instructions
- Wash and remove the dry outer leaves of the spring onions. Cut the roots off the spring onions and then cut the greens above the first split in the stalk. Cut the remaining stalks into two (about matchstick size length), then cut each stalk into quarters vertically along the stalk.
- This should not take more than 5 minutes. Soak the freshly cut spring onion in cold water to reduce the sharp onion taste and acidity for ten minutes or whilst you prepare the other ingredients.
- Peel off the hard green exterior of the cucumber to reveal the pale flesh. Avoiding the seeded watery interior, cut lengths of cucumber similar to the spring onion and set aside.
- Cut a very thin slice of ginger, turn and cut very thin ribbons of ginger similar in size to the cucumber and the spring onion.
- Drain the spring onions, and add the pieces of ginger and cucumber to the bowl. Cut a wedge of orange and squeeze the juice from the orange over the salad. Salt to taste. The dish is ready to serve!
Recipe Card
Summer Spring Onion Salad
A small, simple and fresh salad with spring onions, cucumber and ginger served with a squeeze of orange.
Ingredients
- 4 Stalks Spring Onions
- Small Piece Ginger
- 3 Inch Piece Cucumber
- ¼ Whole Orange
- Salt To Taste
Instructions
- Wash and remove the dry outer leaves of the spring onions. Cut the roots off the spring onions and then cut the greens above the first split in the stalk. Cut the remaining stalks into two (about matchstick size length), then cut each stalk into quarters vertically along the stalk. This should not take more than 5 minutes. Soak the freshly cut spring onion in cold water to reduce the sharp onion taste and acidity for ten minutes or whilst you prepare the other ingredients.
- Cut off the hard green exterior of the cucumber to reveal the pale flesh. Avoiding the seeded watery interior, cut lengths of cucumber similar to the spring onion and set aside.
- Cut a very thin slice of ginger, turn and cut very thin ribbons of ginger similar in size to the cucumber and the spring onion.
- Drain the spring onions, and add the pieces of ginger and cucumber to the bowl. Cut a wedge of orange and squeeze the juice from the orange over the salad. Salt to taste. The dish is ready to serve!
This recipe is simple and versatile and lends itself to customisation. If you fancy a Mediterranean version of the salad, try substituting out the squeeze of orange for a grind of pepper, an olive oil and wine vinegar dressing and some slices of cherry tomatoes. If you want to turn up the Asian flavour a couple of notches, why not try a splash of sesame oil, some sesame seeds and possibly change out the cucumbers for some daikon radish. Alternatively, add in some herbs to change the flavour profile of the salad recipe. Get creative!
If you have made this vegan cucumber and spring onion salad, we would love to hear from you – drop us an email or even better, tell us all about it in the comments and rate this cucumber salad!
Check out Dukes Kitchen for more vegan recipes!
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