Easy Korean cucumber salad made in under 10 minutes by tossing together a few simple ingredients! A great appetizer and side dish!

This is one of my favorite banchan dishes whenever I eat Korean food! This spicy cucumber salad is typically served as a side dish or appetizer.
“Banchan” is the name for small side dishes served with cooked rice. This recipe takes literally 10 minutes to make and goes so well with rice and Asian flavored meats, especially teriyaki or bulgogi flavors.
I have some other Korean dishes here on my blog that would pair well with this appetizer! One of my favorite is Japchae, a sweet potato noodle dish tossed with veggies! For those colder days, I would make Kimchi Jjigae, which is a spicy kimchi stew! A dish my husband loves is this Korean Sweet Beef Bowl, which can be made with any grounds of choice! One of my current favorites is Korean Chicken Bulgogi!
Don’t mind me as I go through this long phase of loving Korean food! The weather has been a bit more chilly so I just want comforting stews and soups, which is a lot of Korean recipes!
10-Minute Korean Spicy Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 4 small cucumbers sliced
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
- 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Wash and rinse cucumber. Thinly slice cucumber and place in a large bowl. Toss with salt and leave to side for 5 minutes.
- Mix ingredients in a separate bowl and then toss together with cucumbers!

Anna Marie Cesaletti
Hi Winnie, I’m invited to a gourmet food club dinner. The theme is Korean food and I was asked to bring an appetizer. The cucumber salad looks perfect along with a crab dip with whole wheat cracker. Sound good to you?
Winnie Kison
That sounds delicious!