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Japanese Cucumber Salad is an incredibly delicious salad, with sweet, tart, umami and savory flavors, that’s also very simple to make. The dressing is so good, you may wish to drink it! 😉 Lovely as a side dish year round, enjoy this salad treat each summer with the freshest and best cucumbers, too.

Enjoy alongside any dinner, for potlucks and BBQs, and savor leftovers for lunch.

This recipe is for most diets, all eating lifestyles, but it’s also refined sugar-free (unlike most cucumber salads with sugar), so great for any Anti-Inflammatory diet, including Paleo, AIP, VAD, Vegan, Gluten-free, Low Oxalate, Low FODMAP (don’t drink the dressing 😉 ) and more.

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Ingredients in Japanese Cucumber Salad

cucumbers, peeled and sliced
rice vinegar, or for Paleo and especially recommended: White Balsamic Vinegar (so delicious!)
maple syrup
sea salt
ginger root, finely grated fresh

A word about White Balsamic Vinegar

Dear friends, maybe I am a bit late to the party, but if you are, too, then I want to share with you my new favorite ingredient.

White Balsamic Vinegar is worthy of your new food love affair — one to remain true to forever.

What makes it so special and unique? — the most flavorful gentle sweet-tartness. It is really light and fresh, but sweet and rich; how is that even possible?

The word is “agrodolce” describes this culinary phenomenon, and it means: sweet-tart. The flavor is floral and fruity with a sweet finish. (An epiphany of pleasure on the tongue.)

Perfect for spring and summer recipes, but also great in all seasons when you need that joyful pick me up in your salad: Oh this flavor is so complex and welcome.

Aged no more than one year, white Trebbiano grapes, from the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, are cooked at a higher pressure but lower temperature than traditional balsamic preparations. Some sources say it is less sweet than dark balsamic, but I find it to be just the opposite: sweeter, just like white grape juice is sweeter than Concord or purple grape juice.

If you don’t love sweet, don’t let that put you off. It’s the tart floral fruity flavor of the sweet that’s so deserving of your intrigue. Find a good and affordable White Balsamic Vinegar here. 🙂

How to make Japanese Cucumber Salad

Peel, and thinly slice cucumber. Place in a medium size mixing bowl. Set aside.
Add the dressing ingredients, rice or white balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, freshly grated ginger root and sea salt, to a small mixing bowl, and whisk until the sweetener and sea salt dissolve.
Pour dressing over sliced cucumbers, and toss to coat well.
Allow to marinate for at least one hour, loosely covered, in the refrigerator.
To serve, optionally garnish with sesame seeds or fresh herb of choice: shiso leaf, mint or basil, or scallions.

Print Recipe

5 from 12 votes

Japanese Cucumber Salad (no refined sugar, Paleo, AIP, Gluten-free, Vegan)

Japanese Cucumber Salad is an incredibly delicious salad, with sweet, tart, umami and savory flavors, that's also very simple to make. The dressing is so good, you may wish to drink it! 😉 Lovely as a side dish year round, enjoy this salad treat each summer with the freshest and best cucumbers, too. (Refined sugar-free, also Low FODMAP and Low Oxalate.)

Prep Time15

Allow 1 hour for marinating.1

Total Time1 15

Course: Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish, topping

Cuisine: American, Japanese

Keyword: aip, cucumber salad, gluten-free, Japanese, low oxalate, low-FODMAP, paleo, refined sugar-free, vegan

Servings: servings

Calories: 18kcal

Author: Megan

Cost: $7

Ingredients

3 cucumbers peeled and sliced
⅓ cup rice vinegar or White Balsamic Vinegar (so delicious!)
4 teaspoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons ginger root finely grated fresh
1 teaspoon sea salt
Optional garnish: fresh shiso leaf, mint, basil -- or scallions. For non-AIP/VAD, also sesame seeds.

Instructions

Peel, and thinly slice cucumber. Place in a medium size mixing bowl. Set aside.
Add the dressing ingredients, rice or white balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, freshly grated ginger root and sea salt, to a small mixing bowl, and whisk until the sweetener and sea salt dissolve.
Pour dressing over sliced cucumbers, and toss to coat well.
Allow to marinate for at least one hour, loosely covered, in the refrigerator.
To serve, optionally garnish with sesame seeds (not for AIP) or fresh herb of choice: shiso leaf, mint, basil -- or scallions.

Nutrition

You can Pin Japanese Cucumber Salad here:

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Japanese Cucumber Salad (Paleo, AIP, Gluten-free)