Sunomono (Cucumber Salad) is a perfect small side dish. It’s easy to make, healthy to eat, and very refreshing to accompany any main dish. It’s tangy but sweet, who wouldn’t like it?
Japanese cucumbers are much skinnier than American ones. They have much less seeds (or at least much smaller seeds) and thinner skin. You might be able to find Japanese cucumbers at some markets in the US. However, if they are not available, you can use English or Persian cucumbers as substitutes. Especially Persian cucumbers are very similar to Japanese ones. Persian cucumbers are a bit shorter, but it doesn’t matter. Just use one more.
We often put seaweed (Wakame) in this salad. If you like seaweed, go for adding it. Otherwise, enjoy as it is.
Sunomono (Cucumber Salad)
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Ingredients
- 3 Japanese cucumbers or 4 Persian
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Slice cucumbers as thin as you can. Stir in salt, and let it sit for 5 minutes. Squeeze water out from cucumbers.
- In a small bowl, mix rice vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce together until sugar dissolves.
- Add vinegar mixture and sesame seeds to prepared cucumbers and mix well.
Video
Kiley
April 19, 2014 at 8:32 pmThanks for a great simple side dish recipe! If I add Wakame to the Sunomono, do I use it after just soaking it or do I need to boil it as well before adding it to the salad? Thank you!
Noriko
May 6, 2014 at 9:30 pmKiley,
you don’t need to boil wakame, just soak it in water and squeeze out water before using.
Poppy
June 12, 2014 at 7:32 pmThis is really tasty. A very symbols techie that easy easy to make, though I ended up shaking the cucumbers for close to 10 minutes (I have a 6 month old baby… had to walk away from dinner for a few minutes, lol). It tasted very similar to the sunomono at our fav sushi restaurant. Thanks for this recipe!
Noriko
September 14, 2014 at 1:03 pmPoppy,
glad you liked our Sunomono recipe! Come back for more recipes!
Coreen
June 15, 2014 at 7:27 amThis is my favorite salad. How long will it last refrigerated? I sometime times eat alone and would not eat all of the in one sitting.
Thank you
Noriko
September 14, 2014 at 1:01 pmCoreen,
glad you liked our Sunomono salad. You should be able to keep it in the fridge for a couple of days.
Tom
July 21, 2014 at 5:38 pmThis looks delicious and so fresh! How long would something like this keep?
Noriko
September 13, 2014 at 5:17 pmTom,
it should be fine for 2-3 days.
Jackie Wine
July 28, 2014 at 5:34 pmNoriko,
Thank you!!!
Noriko
September 13, 2014 at 2:00 pmJackie,
you’re welcome!
Sharon
August 16, 2014 at 11:08 pmThank you for this recipe! My husband made it tonight for the first time and it came out great!!! My 4 year old loved it, too! Delicious!
Noriko
September 8, 2014 at 10:20 pmSharon,
thanks for making our Sunomono! Come back for other recipes!
Darrian
August 21, 2014 at 2:41 pmWill this dish change at all if I let it sit in the fridge for a few hours??
Noriko
September 8, 2014 at 9:57 pmDarrian,
You can make ahead.
Courtney
September 10, 2014 at 9:04 amHi there,
How long will this last, my mom gave me a bunch of cucumbers and I would like to make a batch of this salad 🙂
Thank you!
Noriko
September 12, 2014 at 1:19 amCourtney,
a couple of days.
Helen
October 25, 2014 at 9:07 amHi, looks like a great recipe. Does it matter whether I use light or dark soya sauce? Thanks!
Noriko
October 26, 2014 at 9:24 pmHelen,
use either one!
Ursula
March 17, 2016 at 11:22 amThank you for this recipe! I used American cucumbers because I didn’t find the Japanese ones or any of the substitutes and it worked just fine, I just made an effort to cut it really, really thin. I’m usually not a big fan of salads but I absolutely loved this!
Filipe
March 30, 2016 at 1:43 amIt’s possible to use Stevia instead of Sugar ?
Noriko
April 5, 2016 at 11:37 pmFillipe,
it should be fine, but may not be the same amount as sugar. Add small amount of stevia first and taste.
Lisa Lim
September 11, 2016 at 12:33 pmDear Noriko,
Thank you for this delicious recipe. It’s a great way to use Persian cucumbers quickly.
Tammy
October 12, 2016 at 7:18 pmLove sunomono especially with octopus which I will not attempt, but shrimp would be nice and ginger what are you’re thoughts.