Refreshing and easy Cucumber Salad with Sesame Soy Vinaigrette (Cucumber Gomazu-ae). Use a spiralizer to slice your cucumber into a cool shape!
As the weather is getting warmer and summer is just around the corner, I love making refreshing salad and side dishes to go with our Japanese meals. Today I’m sharing my Cucumber Salad with Sesame Soy Vinaigrette or Cucumber Gomazu-ae (きゅうりのごま酢和え).
Sesame Soy Vinaigrette (Gomazu-ae)
This sesame soy vinaigrette is called gomazu-ae (胡麻酢和え) in Japanese. Gomazu-ae is made of ground white sesame seeds, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sugar.
You might be more familiar with Spinach Goma-ae (ほうれん草の胡麻和え) as it’s a better-known dish in the U.S. Compared to Goma-ae, this sesame vinaigrette is more refreshing and I love the addition of nutty aromatic sesame seeds. This cucumber salad is super easy and you can make it in less than 15 minutes.
Use a Spiralizer for Cucumber Salad
You can make Japanese Cucumber Salad by simply slicing cucumbers, but spiralized cucumbers are more fun! They give more dimensions to the salad and I love how it gives textures when you eat.
I received The Inspiralizer from Ali from Inspiralized.com several weeks ago, and I’ve been busy spiralizing vegetables and fruits ever since!! I still enjoy regular noodles and pasta, but zucchini noodles or zoodles are one of the popular ways to make a dish into a “light” meal and I love the concept!
The spiralizer could also make food more fun for the family. My daughter loves apples and lately her new routine after dinner is spiralizing an apple and eat with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Various Japanese Cucumber Salads
If you enjoy Japanese-style cucumber salads, I have other recipes you may enjoy!
- Japanese Pickled Cucumbers
- Cucumber and Chicken Marinated in Chicken Oil
- Sunomono (Classic Japanese Cucumber Salads)
- Japanese Cucumber Salad with Crab
- Quick & Easy Japanese Pickled Cucumbers
- Daikon and Cucumber Salad with Shio Koji
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Japanese Cucumber Salad with Sesame Soy Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp dried wakame seaweed
- 1 American cucumber (for the best spiralizing result; you can use Japanese or Persian cucumbers if you‘re not spiralizing)
- ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (for sprinkling on cucumber)
For the Sesame Soy Vinaigrette
- 3 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 3 Tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Cover and soak 1 Tbsp dried wakame seaweed in water until it softens and hydrates, about 5 minutes.
- Grind 3 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds in a pestle and mortar (Japanese-style wooden pestle and grooved mortar), keeping some seeds unground for some texture.
- Add 2 tsp sugar, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, and 3 Tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned) and mix well. Set aside.
- For 1 American cucumber, I usually like to make a striped pattern by alternately peeling a ½-inch-wide strip lengthwise, then leaving a strip of the skin intact. With this method, the cucumber slices have some decorative dark green accents and a little bit of extra crunchiness.
- Center-align the cucumber on the spiralizer and press firmly to secure both ends (for the Inspiralizer, set to “Blade A“ for wide ribbons). If you don‘t use a spiralizer, simply cut the cucumber into thin slices with a knife.
- Spin the handle clockwise to spiralize. Using a kitchen shears or knife, cut the spiralized cucumber into shorter lengths.
- Sprinkle ¼ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt on top and rub it into the cucumber. Set aside for a few minutes.
- Squeeze the excess moisture from the cucumber and place in a bowl. Squeeze the excess moisture from the wakame and add to the bowl.
- Before serving, pour the sesame dressing over the cucumber and wakame, and mix well together. Divide into individual dishes or place in a large serving bowl. Serve immediately.
To Store
- I don’t recommend keeping it for a long time as moisture from the cucumber will dilute the dressing and the salad will become slightly pickled. If that’s okay, keep it in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2–3 days.
Great dressing even for plain cucumbers from my garden (I prefer to peel them because skin is too thick). I use redcurrant juice (or simply mashed redcurrants) instead of rice vinegar, which is unaffordable for me. The taste is just right – sour and sweet and blends well with soy sauce and sesame seeds.
Hi Ronushka, Thank you very much for your kind feedback!
We are so glad to hear you enjoyed the dressing!
I bought the ebook using my Android phone and need explanation of how to download it to my Chromebook. Please respond soonest.
Hi Linda! I’ve responded to your email with the instructions. Thank you for purchasing my ebook!
I just made this today for my husband and I and it was really easy and tasty! Thanks!
Hi Thao! So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
This is the best salad I’ve ever tasted, and the sesame dressing is amazing. Great idea to combine the cucumber with vinegar and soy sauce, we usually use sour cream. I love Your recipes. Greetings from Poland.
Hi Aleksandra! I’m so happy to hear you liked this recipe and thank you for your kind feedback. Yeah, rice vinegar and soy sauce is a golden combination and we make Japanese salad dressing too! I’ll put the link here just in case you’re interested. 🙂
https://www.justonecookbook.com/wafu-dressing-japanese-salad-dressing/
Thanks again! xo
I’m very happy that you have a just one cook book because I really love cooking and Thank you for all the delicious recipe that you always post.
Hi Melinda! I’m so happy to hear you like my recipes! Thank you for your kind feedback!
Made this just last week for friends and everybody loved it 🙂 It’s great to be able to make such an healthy delicious salad without the need of adding oil. Enjoyed the recipe and passed it along to my friends (slowly spreading the love for japanese food… <3 )
Hi Pina! I’m so happy to hear everyone liked it! Thank you for spreading the love for Japanese food! xo 🙂
I love cucumber salads and sesame dressings so I can’t wait to try this recipe one of these days! It looks absolutely delicious and perfect for the warm weather indeed.
I am a huge fitnessblender fan too! I started using their workouts about a year ago and they have literally changed my life (well, my body at least…)
You work out every day, I am impressed! I do about 3 workouts a week and I love the results I am seeing. Feeling stronger and healthier is a wonderful thing!
Hi Olivia! I apologize for my late response. I hope you enjoy this salad. Quite refreshing with the rice vinegar inside.
I’m so happy to hear you follow FB as well! I do, I follow their 8 week program, and this past week was the first week that I couldn’t do the workout as I was extremely busy. I usually drop off my kids at school and come home to do the workout so I don’t have excuses. I’m not losing a lot of weight, but I think I’m more toned than before. I just purchased 30 min program so that I can (hopefully) continue while I’m in Japan. Eating is part of my job so I have to somehow balance out… 😀 Thank you so much for writing! Tomorrow I have their 1000 calorie workout waiting in my workout calender and I’m scaaareddddd!!! lol.
Hi Nami! I bought pretty much all of their programs! it really motivates me to do the workouts if they are in my calendar 🙂 But about 6 months ago, I also bought the weights they are using in their videos (powerblocks) and that has been one of the best investments I have made ever! That’s when I finally started to see real results and very quickly too. No big muscles or anything like that, just a lot more toned and strong, I absolutely love it. Real pity that many women are afraid to use weights thinking that it will bulk them up. I am leaner and stronger than I have ever been and I am in my mid 40s. I used to do a lot of cardio and never really saw the results I was hoping for, what a waste of time. Nowadays I do about 3 workouts a week of about 30-40min, one for the upper body, one for the lower body and usually one hiit whole body. Sorry for writing so much but FB makes me really happy and it’s exciting to find somebody who loves them too 🙂
Hi Olivia! No, I’m so glad you shared your story about FB! I’ve been telling my friends (and look, even my readers LOL!!!), so I definitely share the excitement with you. I used to have a trainer when I went to Mr. JOC’s previous company’s gym and that time I learned that weights really helped and I was quite surprised how toned I became. So I’m a fan of lifting weights. I have been debating about Powerblocks, but I have bouncing ball and elastic ropes that I bought but never used… and Mr. JOC will kill me if Powerblocks is sitting around… so I’ll wait for another year to see if I can show my determination. Haha. If you do FB programs, how do you schedule 3 times a week? You schedule your own? I picked 8 weeks, and my calendar automatically fill up with their program. I missed last week, so my calendar now messed up and I have to go to May to do today’s workout. I wish I can “edit” the scheduled workout….
LOL, I also have elastic ropes and a weighted hula hoop that I bought with good intentions and never used. Doesn’t everyone? 🙂
I followed their programs at first (loved all of them) but stopped once I bought the powerblocks and now I create my own program. The key for me is to schedule the workouts ahead of time because once they are set in my calendar, I know I will do them. So usually on Sunday night, I look at what I have to do that week and plan my workouts accordingly so I know when I will have time to do them. I have a long list of favorite workouts and I choose from those or try their new ones from time to time. I love their programs but as you said, the schedule cannot be edited unfortunately and it made me feel bad when I had to skip one or more workouts. The only time my method doesn’t work is when I am on vacation…I usually plan a couple of workouts (the ones not requiring any equipment) but I never do them 🙂
Thanks so much for your response, Olivia! Gahahaha! I guess it’s not just me with unused elastic ropes (I actually brought them to Japan last summer, NEVER used, and brought them back. SIGH!).
Thanks for sharing your tip! I see, so it is impossible to edit the workout. Too bad. It’s great that you can make your own schedule. I’m not there yet. I still need someone to tell me what workout needs to be done. Maybe one day I can make my workout routine that works for me.
Yes… that’s exactly I’m afraid now. Japan is hot, someone lives underneath my condo (hard to jump), and kids are with me 24/7. These reasons are enough to de-motivate me and I can’t edit my workout schedule… 2 months no workout will put me back to ZERO (or negative!)…. yikes.
Good luck with your workout! I’m glad I have a FB workout buddy now. 🙂
Hi Nami,
I am glad to have found a FB workout buddy too! I think it gives extra motivation to share those things!
BTW, I forgot to tell you that I made this cucumber salad the other day (to eat with omurice) and it was absolutely delicious! No surprise there though..all the recipes I have tried from your site have been amazing!
And I also loved your posts about Yosemite..it’s one of my all time favorite places too! I hope to get a chance to go back there one day…
🙂
Thank you for your kind words, Olivia! Happy to hear you liked the recipe. 🙂
I LOOOOVE Yosemite, especially High Sierra (and esp. Tuolumne Meadows)… Hope you get to visit Yosemite again too!
Dear Nami, should I sprinkle sesame on the top or add it to the dressing? I think this bit is missing in the recipe?
Hi Sapola! I am so sorry for my late response. Do you mean by 3 Tbsp. sesame seeds? It’s in Step 2 when you need to grind and then make into sauce. Or do you see any mistake somewhere in the recipe?
This sounds delicious! Will get the seaweed so I can make it tonight! Thank you!
Hi June! Hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
I’ll be honest, I never really liked cucumbers. But if this recipe is that good, as I’m sure it is, this will change the way I feel about cucumbers. ありがとうございました。
Hi Jerry! Hope you enjoy the recipe! どうもありがとう！
Thank you for the cucumber recipe. It looks delicious!
I have been trying to become more fit also. Have you tried http://www.myfitnesspal.com? It really helps me stay on track.
I’ve been entering my meals into MFP for the past year, and have it set so it records my steps taken with the iPhone. I have lost almost 60 pounds this past year. It’s a wonderful free program.
Hi June! That is awesome!! Congratulations on losing 60 lbs! I wish it was me! 😀 I’ll try recording my meals again… Thank you for sharing your success story with us!
Hi Tamala! Thank you! I’m happy to hear you’re working towards healthy lifestyle too! I used to use MyFitnessPal, but I stopped using…. I just couldn’t keep up recording what I ate…. and it was hard to enter what I ate (Japanese food)…. I’ll give it a try again!
Hi Nami,
I’ve been contemplating a spiralizer purchase for months now. Is it easy to use? I don’t want or need another kitchen gadget taking up space in the cupboards.
Your salad looks delicious. I’m going try that soon. I’m also going to try the fitness Chanel.
Thanks,
Monica
Hi Monica! I thought of purchasing it for some time too (then I received it as a gift). I’m glad I got one. I’ve been in this “healthy” mode so I use it more than I would if I purchased let’s say last year when I wasn’t that much into keeping healthy. So it’s really up to the user.
Hope you like FitnessBlender channel. They are so awesome. 🙂
Hi Nami! I own a spiralizer and I’ve made zoodles (zucchini noodles) to replace pasta. Now I have to try a different blade and make this refreshing salad! I love cucumbers! And I’ve been following Fitness Blender too! Kelli and Daniel are so motivating and make you feel like you can do anything! Here’s to your good health!
Hi Donna! So happy to hear you make zoodles and work out with FitnessBlender too! I’m doing 8 weeks (45-1 hour one), and it’s been pretty good so far (I’m dying everyday). Now I know I got a workout buddy! It will help me inspired! Thank you!
Hi Nami,
Glad to see this healthy dish and it sounds simple to make too.
Hope you enjoy eating healthy foods and post a lot of healthy dishes.
Thank you
Jan
Hi Jan! Thank you! Will do my best. 🙂
It looks like a Japanese cucumber.
Hi Karen! Japanese cucumbers are thinner than this American one. Maybe it’s hard to tell from the picture… It’s hard to spiralize the thin Japanese cucumber, so I recommend using American one. 🙂
So much better than the traditional seaweed salad I buy at restaurants. This sauce is epic – I love sesame but mixing it and crushing it really does give it a nice texture. I also allowed the sauce to sit for a few hours and think that may have strengthened the flavor, I don’t know. But I’m definitely keeping this recipe!
Thanks so much for trying this recipe, Katy! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the sauce! Cucumbers probably absorb sauce quickly which might be the reason why you feel it was strong flavor (kind of like pickles). 🙂 Thank you for your kind feedback! xo