If you’re keen on Korean cuisine, you might instantly recognise this spicy chilli oil cucumber salad as inspired by the classic banchan (side dish) – Oi Muchim. Oi means “cucumber” and muchim means “mixed” with this small plate constellating on a refreshing pile of crisp cucumber seasoned with a medley of spices.
My rendition puts a sizzling spin on this classic dish with a sizzling chilli oil as the base. The flavours and ingredients are much the same as in the original, with this recipe largely set apart by the preparation which takes a quick-fix chilli oil as its starting point.
Key Steps For Making This Chilli Oil Cucumber Salad
- We start by dicing 2-3 large green cucumbers into half inch thick rounds.
- Next , we will mix together the chilli oil dressing. Key ingredients needed for this are:
- Minced garlic
- Gochugaru (Korean crushed red pepper flakes)
- Sesame seeds
- Sesame oil
- Soy sauce
- Rice vinegar/ white vinegar
- Brown sugar
- Once the dressing is ready, toss in your cucumbers and give it a good mix to ensure that the slices are evenly coated in the marinade.
Tips For Perfecting This Dish
- After slicing the cucumbers, generously salt the slices and let them sit for 20-30 minutes or so to draw out the excess moisture – this ensures extra-crunchy cucumbers for our salad. Then rinse the slices with cold running water and pat dry completely.
- Feel free to adapt and adjust the measurements and ingredients mentioned for the chilli oil dressing, recalibrating them to your taste and spice threshold, for instance adding more Gochugaru (Korean crushed red pepper flakes) if you like your chilli oil hot!
- Once the cucumbers have been tossed with the chilli oil dressing, let the cucumbers marinate for at least 15 minutes and longer if you can (4-6 hours would be ideal) to absorb the flavours.
- Fora restaurant-style serving (inspired by the presentation at Din Tai Fung!), stack the marinated cucumbers on a plate, pouring the leftover marinade on top. Serve chilled.
Spicy Chilli Oil Cucumber Salad
Inspired by the signature Korean dish “Oi Muchim," this spicy yet oh-so-refreshing cucumber salad is set apart by a sizzling chilli oil as its base. It's part sweet, part spicy and part tangy, with a craveable crunch too.
Ingredients
- 2-3 large green cucumbers
- salt as needed
- 3-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 2-3 tsp gochugaru (Korean crushed red pepper flakes)
- 2-3 tsp sesame seeds
- 1.5 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1-2 tsp brown sugar
Instructions
- Start by dicing 2-3 large green cucumbers into half inch thick rounds. Generously salt the cucumbers and let them sit for 20-30 minutes or so, then rinse with cold running water and pat dry completely.
- Add the garlic gochugaru and sesame seeds to a heat-proof mixing bowl.
- Gently heat the sesame oil and pour it on top letting the “chilli oil” sizzle for a few minutes. Then give it a mix and stir in the rice vinegar, soy sauce and brown sugar.
- Toss in your cucumbers , mixing well to ensure they are evenly coated with the marinade. Let the cucumbers marinate for at least 15 minutes and longer if you can (4-6 hours would be ideal).
- For a restaurant-style serving (inspired by the presentation at Din Tai Fung!), stack them on a plate, pouring the leftover marinade on top. Serve chilled
Video
Enjoyed This Spicy Chilli Oil Cucumber Salad
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It was amazing and easy to make.
Delighted to hear this, thank you!
I tried this with Zucchini and it turned out sooo yummm. Love the recipes by Ayushi! Simple and delicious 😋
I have also made this salad.it is so yumm…thanks ma’am for sharing this wonderful recipe❤❤❤