Din Tai Fung Cucumber Salad Copycat Recipe

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This Din Tai Fung Cucumber salad is packed with flavor. Wonderfully marinated cucumbers sprinkled with chili oil make a delicious vegan appetizer for any special occasion! It’s perfect for the summer, it’s healthy and vegan, so let’s dive in.

Cucumbers, especially Persian and English cucumbers, are one of my favorite snacks. They’re light and refreshing. Also with a current heat wave, this cooled cucumber salad, based by Taiwan’s Din Tai Fung restaurant, helps to keep the heat at bay. This Cucumber salad recipe is incredibly simple to prepare.

Cucumber Salad is one of Din Tai Fung’s most popular appetizers, and I order it practically every time I visit. The crisp cucumbers are mixed in a dressing created with Din Tai Fung’s signature chili oil and a small bit of sesame oil — really delicious and full of flavor.

What is Din Tai Fung Cucumber Salad?

Healthy, crunchy, and refreshing, this Asian cucumber salad is a must-try! Rice vinegar, sugar, garlic, and chile oil were used to make a basic dressing.

A cucumber salad recipe inspired by Din Tai Fung is just amazing. Any Asian meal will benefit from this crunchy Asian cucumber salad as a side dish or appetizer.

It’s created using Persian cucumbers that have been lightly brined and seasoned in a basic garlicky Asian vinaigrette. This recipe is a 100% copycat of Din Tai Fung’s cucumber salad.

Suppose you’re unfamiliar with Din Tai Fung. In that case, it’s a restaurant chain that is expanding in America, opening multiple locations in Southern California and, after that, into Las Vegas and Seattle, Washington, ant it serves delicious dumplings, rice cakes, and Asian sides.

Din Tai Fung cucumber is one of their most popular sides, and it’s something I need on a regular basis. Every time I go out, I notice that on every table.

Although this Asian cucumber salad is great when served immediately, It is really much better when chilled. You want to marinate the cucumbers brine in the refrigerator until they’re cool and ready to put in the dressing.

Din Tai Fung Cucumber Salad

What Type of Cucumber to use for Din Tai Fung Cucumber Salad?

For a few reasons, I recommend Persian or if you can’t find you can use English cucumbers for this recipe:

They don’t have any seeds. I dislike seeds in cucumber salads and strive to avoid them as much as feasible. Cucumbers from Persia and England are sweeter and have much less water than traditional cucumbers. When marinated in the dressing, this will result in a crisper salad!

Anyone should be able to find either of these cucumber varieties in your local market, and they should be easily obtainable. If you can’t get either of these cucumbers for some reason, ordinary cucumbers will suffice.

Cucumbers should be prepared ahead of time.

How to Prepare the Cucumbers?

Prepare your cucumbers by cutting them into 1/2-inch rounds. Place your cucumbers in a bowl with salt and let them rest for 30 minutes after they have been evenly chopped. After that, wash off the salt and pat them dry with a kitchen or paper towel as much as feasible.

The salt will aid in the removal of excess moisture from the cucumbers via osmosis, resulting in a crisper cucumbers.

How to Make a Copycat Cucumber salad from Din Tai Fung

In a small bowl, combine the sliced cucumbers with the kosher salt. Toss to blend, then set aside for 20-30 minutes.

After that, rinse the salted cucumbers. Next, whisk together rice vinegar, sesame oil, mirin, sugar, garlic, and salt in a bowl to make the cucumber salad dressing.

In a large mixing bowl, toss the cucumbers with the dressing. To achieve the original flavor, they must marinate (wrapped) in the fridge for at least 5 hours and up to 2 days.

Now that it’s time to serve, arrange the cucumbers on a platter in a nice stack. If necessary, sprinkle with extra salt and drizzle with the chili oil and Fresno chili. Enjoy after it’s cooled properly!

Share the image below to your Pinterest board if you like this Din Tai Fung Cucumber salad!

Din Tai Fung Cucumber salad

Ingredients

  • 8 Persian or English cucumbers (1/2-inch-thick pieces)
  • 1½ TBSP of kosher salt

For Dressing:

  • 3 TBSP of rice vinegar
  • 2 TBSP of sugar
  • 1 ½ TBSP of Mirin
  • 1 ½ TBSP of sesame oil
  • 3 cloves of grated garlic
  • ½ tsp of kosher salt

To Serve:

  • 1/2 TBSP of chili oil (or more, to liking)
  • ½ TBSP of sesame oil
  • 1 minced Fresno chili pepper (optional)

Directions

  • In a small bowl, place the cucumber slices. Mix with kosher salt, tossing to incorporate. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes before proceeding.
  • Rinse off the salt mixture and pat the cucumbers dry after 20-30 minutes.
  • Make the dressing for Din Tai Fung Cucumber Salad in the meantime. Whisk together the mirin, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, and salt in a small basin.
  • Set aside after thoroughly mixing.
  • Toss the cucumbers with the dressing and leave to marinate for at least 4-5 hours and up to 2 days.
  • To serve, check for seasoning and add more salt if required. Serve chilled with a drizzle of chili oil and a sprinkle with Fresno chile.

Last words

I hope you’ve liked this Din Tai Fung Cucumber Salad Copycat Recipe! It is really all about making the cucumbers nice and crispy, marinating them nicely so it absorbs all the flavors, and last but not least, chill them and enjoy! Let me know how you liked this cucumber salad by commenting down in the comments section.

3.8/5 (42 Reviews)
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