Just one bite of this simple Sesame Cucumber Edamame Salad and it’ll become a part of your weekly rotation.
This salad has it all! Freshness, crunch, brightness, umami, creaminess. All the textures, so many flavors. I love the pops from the edamame, crunch from the toasted sesame seeds, and the way the creamy avocado brings it all together. You cannot go wrong with my Sesame Cucumber Edamame Salad. It’s super easy and will impress anyone you make it for.
There’s one important step that you shouldn’t skip. It’s vital to ensuring the success of this recipe and at first glance, you might want to skip it to save time. This is the very first step in the recipe and it’s salting your cucumbers.
Cucumbers are a bit flavorless on their own, since they’re filled with so much water. However if you salt them first, it will draw out a bit of water from the cucumbers, preventing them from making your salad soggy. It will also help to add extra flavor.
Another important step in my Sesame Cucumber Edamame Salad recipe is toasting your sesame seeds. Sure, you can buy already toasted seeds or throw the sesame seeds in raw, but the quick step of toasting them yourself is SO MUCH BETTER. It’ll draw out the natural oils in the seeds, which again, adds more flavor and richness to your salad.
The dressing for the Sesame Cucumber Edamame Salad is tangy, so the fat from those freshly toasted seeds goes a long way in bringing all the flavors together.
Ingredient Notes:
- Persian Cucumbers – If you can’t find these, you can use English Cucumbers. Just cut them smaller and let them sit in the salt a bit longer, for about 15 minutes.
- Sesame Seeds – I used white sesame seeds for this salad, but you can use black sesame seeds or a black and white mixture, as well!
- Lime Juice – Depending on how juicy your lime is, you may need an extra squeeze of lime juice at the end.
- Rainbow Micro Greens – If you can’t find rainbow, any kind of micro green will do!
Sesame Cucumber Edamame Salad
Equipment
- 2 Medium Bowls Alternatively, you can use the same bowl for marinating the cucumbers and tossing the salad. Just rinse it out and dry it first.
- Paper Towels
- 1 Small Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 Persian cucumbers trimmed and cut in half lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise into half moons
- Kosher salt
- 4 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 cup edamame
- 1 avocado diced
- Juice from 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 oz. rainbow microgreens
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix together the cucumbers and 2 tablespoons Kosher salt. Let sit for 10 minutes, then rinse under cold water, drain, and pat dry really well with paper towels.
- While the cucumber sits in the salt, heat a small dry pan over medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and toast, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes, until golden. Remove from heat and immediately and transfer to a small bowl.
- In a medium bowl, gently combine the cucumbers, ¾ of the toasted sesame seeds (reserving the rest for garnish), edamame, avocado, lime juice, fish sauce, sesame oil, olive oil, and micro greens. Taste and season with freshly ground black pepper, and additional Kosher salt, if desired.
- Transfer to a serving bowl, sprinkle remaining sesame seeds on top, and serve immediately.
Tried this recipe last night and it was excellent – light and refreshing. Love using the microgreens as a substitute for mixed greens.
Yum! Looks great. Is there a substitute for fish sauce. Also, why do you need to salt the cucumbers?
I really love the fish sauce here, but if you don’t want to use it, try ponzu instead!
Great question about the cucumbers! We salt them for the same reason we sometimes salt eggplant – to draw out some water. Cucumbers have such a high water content. If we try to remove some water now, less water will seep out of the cucumbers once the entire salad dressed and seasoned. Less of a chance your salad will be soggy.