Thai Cucumber Salad – Kalyn’s Kitchen

posted by Kalyn Denny on August 18, 2021

Thai Cucumber Salad will wake up your mouth with amazing flavors, and it’s perfect low-carb side dish for any main dish with Asian flavors.

PIN Thai Cucumber Salad to make it later!

The flavors that are the trademark of Thai food work together so well in this Thai Cucumber Salad, even if some ingredients I’ve used are not authentically Thai. And this light cucumber salad is a perfect side dish for grilled meat, seafood, or tofu, and I’d also eat this as a very flavorful summer lunch. And all the flavors in this salad will definitely wake up your mouth!

If you like Thai food and cucumbers I bet you’re going to love this salad as much as I did! This is something I’ve made over and over since I first posted the recipe years ago, and I’m happy it’s getting new photos to encourage you to try it!

What Are the Flavors of Thai Cuisine?

I’m a huge fan of Thai Cuisine, which is known for dishes that contain an assortment of spicy, sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and savory (or Umami) flavors. Read more about Thai Cuisine to see how these flavors are combined in amazing dishes.

What gives this cucumber salad Thai flavors?

I’m not claiming this salad is authentically Thai, but it does have a good combination of the flavors used in Thai cuisine. The dressing for the salad has lime juice, Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) or your preferred sweetener, Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link), and garlic, and the Umami flavor notes come from fish sauce (affiliate link). This Asian condiment (with a strong aroma but fantastic flavor) may be an unusual ingredient for some readers, but I’d never make this without it. Be sure to use Gluten-Free Fish Sauce if you need the recipe to be gluten-free. 

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

• European cucumbers or fresh garden cucumbers
• fresh mint
• chopped peanuts
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh-squeezed lime juice, I used my fresh-frozen lime juice
• Fish Sauce, preferably Red Boat Fish Sauce (affiliate link) which is gluten-free
• Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) or other sweetener of your choice
• Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link) or other spicy hot sauce
• garlic puree or minced garlic

How to Make Thai Cucumber Salad:

(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.)

1. Cut up cucumbers into bite-sized pieces. (I’ve made this with European cucumbers, garden cucumbers, and also small Persian cucumbers, and all were good. I wouldn’t use waxy cucumbers from the grocery store for this salad.)
2. Whisk together the lime juice, fish sauce (affiliate link), Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) or your preferred sweetener, Green Tabasco (affiliate link), and garlic to make the dressing.
3. Chop the mint, or cut mint leaves into thin strips if you prefer.
4. Combine the cucumber pieces and chopped or sliced mint in a bowl, then stir in the dressing.
5. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper.
6. Top the salad with a generous amount of chopped peanuts and serve immediately.
7. If the salad makes more than you’ll eat at one time I would prepare ingredients but refrigerate separately; then stir together as many servings of the salad as you’ll be eating!

Make it a Meal:

Thai Cucumber Salad would taste great with Sauteed Scallops with Garlic, Grilled Shrimp Skewers, Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken, Thai-Inspired Ground Turkey Stir Fry, or Sanpete County Grilled Turkey Kabobs.

More Salad Ideas with Cucumbers:

Check out Low-Carb Cucumber Salads to Keep You Cool to find 25 more interesting salads with cucumbers from Kalyn’s Kitchen! Can you tell I am a huge fan of cucumber salads!

Ingredients

Salad Ingredients

• 2  European cucumbers or 4 fresh garden cucumbers
• 1/2 cup chopped or sliced fresh mint (measure after chopping)
• 1/4 cup (or more) chopped peanuts
• salt and pepper to taste

Dressing Ingredients

• 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 1 1/2 T Fish Sauce (see notes)
• 1 1/2 T Monkfruit Sweetener (see notes)
• 1 tsp. Green Tabasco Sauce (see notes)
• 1 1/2 tsp. garlic puree or minced garlic

Instructions

1. Cut ends off cucumbers, then partially peel, leaving thin strips of peel in stripes along the cucumber.
2. Cut striped cucumbers in half lengthwise, then in 1/2 inch slices.
3. Wash mint, dry well and chop coarsely or slice into strips.
4. Coarsely chop peanuts.
5. Mix dressing ingredients.
6. Combine chopped mint and cucumbers in plastic bowl, add dressing and stir a few times so cucumbers and mint are completely coated with dressing.
7. Pour into serving bowl, season with salt and pepper if desired.
8. Sprinkle chopped peanuts over and serve immediately.
9. If the recipe makes more than you’ll eat at once, I would cut the cucumbers, chop mint, and mix the dressing but keep them refrigerated separately and toss the toss the amount of salad you want together right before serving.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving:

Calories: 53Total Fat: 3.1gSaturated Fat: .5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2.2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 451mgCarbohydrates: 5.5gFiber: 1.1gSugar: 2.1gProtein: 2.3g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Cucumbers are a great low-carb and low-glycemic food choice, and with an approved sweetener instead of sugar, this Thai Cucumber Salad would be perfect for low-carb diet plans, as well as any phase of the original South Beach Diet. (Even if you used sugar, this still wouldn’t have that much sugar in a serving.)

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Salad Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2006, and I have literally made it every summer since then! The photos were updated in 2013 and in 2021 the post was updated with more information and the photos were improved again.