My husband makes fun of me because I have an uncanny ability to remember seemingly minute (and perhaps useless) details related to important life events. Like, he’ll say,
“Sara remember the time we went on that amazing date and I got you that super awesome gift and shared all of the inner most parts of my soul with you?”
And I’ll instantly know what he’s referring to and say
“Um, ya, you mean that one time when I was wearing that gray sweater and my red heels and I had my hair up, but not all the way up, but casually-messy up, and you wore those one pants with the hole in the knee and the flip-flops I bought you in Cali and on the way to the car I dropped my chap-stick?”
And that’s when he just stares at me.
I’m convinced this talent will some day win me lots of money on a random game show or something, but in the mean time it can also provide us with some good recipes. See I remember a family bbq from about 2 years ago. I know where we were, but I can’t even list the people that were there. What I do remember, and I remember it well, was that my sister-in-law Monica showed up (and yes, I do know what she was wearing) with a little plastic container of awesome cucumbers.
Husband: “Hey Sara, remember that really important family bbq we had where all of those earth-shattering things happened?”
Sara: “Um, ya, you mean the one where Monica brought those awesome cucumbers? Totally remember that.”
I’ve remembered that for two years and even though that was the only time I tasted them, I found myself craving them a few weeks ago. So I got the recipe from her and here we are! See? I knew my talent was useful.
These are tangy and sweet with a little bit of a kick. It makes a great side-dish for summer bbq’s. There’s something incredibly refreshing about cold cucumbers, right? And if you have cukes coming out of your ears garden, then this is especially for you. Aside from eating them plain, we love these on salads or added to lettuce wraps or just plain from the fridge. They’re unique and you have to make them to see why I love them so much!
A mandoline will be your best friend here, but you can certainly slice by hand if you’d like. You can do peeled or unpeeled cucumber and you can leave them whole, or cut them in half. Your choice.
Next, place the cucumbers in a colander and sprinkle them with salt. Salting cucumbers draws out the moisture. If you don’t do this step, then all of this moisture will come out in the final dish and water it down. I actually salt my cucumbers before making tzatziki as well because otherwise it tends to get watery after sitting in the fridge. I like to set my colander in a pan to collect the moisture and just leave that whole set-up in the fridge for a bit.
While your cucumbers are draining you can prepare the simple marinade. Heat up rice vinegar, sugar, and red pepper flakes in a pan and after it’s reduced add some minced red onion. Honestly, you can leave out the pepper flakes if you don’t want any heat. I obviously left them out of this batch, because honestly I forgot. But I don’t like a lot of heat and these taste great sans pepper flakes as well.
You’ll want to let these sit and marinade for a while before you eat them. They get better with time, so give yourself at least a few hours chill time. They’re also great the next day, and even several days later. They become more like pickle-texture they longer they sit (which I like!)
It’s a great side-dish for any bbq meal, or just along side grilled chicken or steak. Try it out at a pot-luck and listen for the oohs and aahs.
Sweet and Spicy Marinated Cucumbers
Description
Marinated cucumbers burst with flavor, making a perfect side dish, or topping to a salad or other meat dishes. We love these on Asian lettuce wraps as well!
Ingredients
- 1–1/2 lbs cucumber (about 3 medium), thinly sliced (peeled or unpeeled)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt (if using table salt, use only 1 teaspoon)
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar, seasoned or regular
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional if you don’t want any heat.)
- 2 tablespoons minced red onion
Instructions
- Place cucumber slices in a colander sitting over a bowl, sprinkle with salt and toss well. Let sit for 1 hour refrigerated. Toss the cukes a few times while they drain if you remember. While cucumber slices are draining, prepare marinade.
- Combine vinegar, water, sugar and red pepper in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cook until reduced to a 1/3 cup (about 10 minutes). If for some reason you boil for too long, just add a little water until you have 1/3 C. Remove reduction from heat and add onion. Let mixture cool to room temp.
- When cucumbers are done resting, pat them dry with a few paper towels and then combine with the vinegar reduction. Chill for at least a few hours before serving. They improve with time!
Notes
- Note: I have successfully made these with sugar substitute (like Truvia) as well.
- Tip: Sometimes I like to double the marinade to make them extra flavorful!
Questions & Reviews
Loved the recipe but the vinegar was really strong and burned my nose hairs off!! 🙂 Recipe was good though
Got the vinegar reduction going as I type. Smells wonderful and so much better than the “Cukes and onions” I grew up on (and didn’t like very much.)
I’m making it right now and cann’t wait to trye it.
I was used to mak cucumbersalade only with vinegar and sugar
as my mother made it when I was little, but this looks like something realy
tasty to me!
I made this recipe and took it to a cookout the other night and it was a hit! I will keep this recipe and make it often.
Found this recipe via Pinterest and made it for a barbecue for the next day. *love* I used Braggs Apple Cider vinegar instead of rice vinegar, since that is what I had on hand. I got rave reviews, my family loved it. It was perfect on the hamburgers and hot dogs in place of a pickle relish.
These sound yummy and simple. Can’t wait to try them. The story you wrote along with this recipe was so funny, and I can totally relate. Looking forward to more recipe’s and stories from you. 🙂
Where do you live so I can come get those red onions….lol
Recipe sounds great!!!
Just made it: recipe is easy and bursting with flavor! Thank you for sharing!
can’t wait to try these! My daughter and I love cucumbers and I’m always wondering what to serve with bbq…perfect, thanks!
TFS this yummy recipe. I had to laugh – I also have that uncanny ability to recall useless data from situations of yesteryear! I remember clothing people were wearing, the song playing at the time, and the same kind of details you mentioned. I keep wondering too when this is going to become a useful characteristic instead of useless! LOL
Used Agave Sweetener instead of sugar……delish!
This looks delicious. Perfect for summer eating!
I’m making this right now! Can’t wait to try them!!!
Thank you! I had a ton of cucumbers. This was wonderful.
I’m making this for the second time today…first time was over the weekend. Man is this good! I didn’t have rice vinegar or red onions so I used apple cider vinegar and yellow onions (cucumbers and onions are from our garden). Wow, this is AH-MAZING! Hubby smelled the vinegar reduction cooking over the weekend and made lots of “I’m not going to eat or like that” faces. He went back for thirds :).
I am so excited! I love this cucumber salad thing they served at my FAV Thai restaurant as a side. I have been trying to recreate it, but…..
This might be it! I wasn’t heating the vinegar mixture first. Thanks 😉
I was just canning some pickles and while they were processing came and looked at your blog….THANKS! Now I know what to do with the cucumbers I had left over!
I can’t wait to try this…my family loves cucumbers but I dislike them. Hopefully dressing them up a bit will help them gain my favor!
one very similar to a cucumber salad I make…but I also chop up some fresh cilantro to put in mine…and I don’t usually heat up the vinegar…guess I’ll have to try that…
and would LOVE some of those onions!
I run them through the mandoline to make uniform thin slices. I had this at a going away to Africa luncheon and I couldnt stop raving about them. I was so excited when the host wrote me out a card and mailed it out to me. You will always remember the 1st time you have these tasty morsels. GREAT recipe!
I make this almost note for note, the only difference being a few dollops of Greek yogurt. I love the creaminess as a foil to the tang of the vinegar & pepper flakes. (a shot of Sriracha never hurts either)
This is one of my favorite salads, we love love this in the summer. And I usually use rice wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or my favorite is tarragon vinegar. It usually depends on what I have enough of.
These are very similar to an Indonesian dish called Acar(pronounced a-char)
In Acar the cucumbers are seeded,cut and salted/drained (to remove excess water), then rinsed before adding the vinegar/sugar mix and tiny whole red chili’s and small peeled whole shallots. Refrigerate/marinate for several hours before serving.
Amazing! Even my vinegar hating husband loved them!
This sounds absolutely fantastic. The one problem is, I am studying abroad in France right now and probably do not have access to Rice vinegar. Is there any alternate you could propose? I am wanting to make a full meal for my host family before I return home next week and this looks perfect for an appetizer/salad.
hmm, that’s a tricky one Christina. In a lot of things you can easily exchange vinegars, but the flavor is definitely distinct here. I think an apple cider vinegar might work well since it’s got a sweet and savory thing going on. I’d probably try that!
Apple Cider Vinegar rocks in this salad- we eat this all summer long. I haven’t had it with red pepper flakes before but I’m sure it would work well.
Made these for dinner with some girlfriends….they were so delicious. Love the little kick they have. Perfect summer salad.
Just made these to have with turkey brats tonight for dinner. I sampled a bite and they are delicious!!! I made these with Sweet N Low, as my husband is doing a low carb diet, and it seemed like it worked great. Thanks for another great recipe!!!
We had this tonight for dinner and it was a huge hit! Even the kids loved it. Thanks!
I just ran across your site by way of face book- I totally love it. Your food and photos are just my style. Love your easy to read directions too! I’ve been making these for years- now I know why after awhile they go flat- I have never used salt to take the moisture out! My daughter and son will love the addition of the red pepper flakes! Will be back weekly for new ideas!
These are so great! I grew up eating cucumbers soaked in white vinegar and water… this recipe is such a great improvement. Thanks Sara! This recipe and your Asian Cabbage Salad our two of my favorite healthy foods now.