Spicy Cucumber Salad with Trader Joe’s Chili Onion Crunch

There is a short window every summer when cucumbers are everywhere, the kitchen is too hot to cook in, and all anyone wants is something cold and crunchy. This spicy cucumber salad is the thing we reach for on repeat. It comes together in one bowl, in about five minutes, and it disappears just as fast.

The secret is Trader Joe’s Chili Onion Crunch, that jar of crispy chili and garlic goodness that makes everything taste like you tried way harder than you did. Toss it with Persian cucumbers, a splash of rice vinegar, a little sesame oil, and a pile of green onions, and you have a snappy, savory, just-spicy-enough side that goes with basically everything. Let’s be real, half of it gets eaten straight out of the bowl before it ever reaches the table.

Ingredients

Here is everything you need. The amounts are flexible, so start light and adjust to taste.

• 4 to 5 Persian cucumbers
• 1 to 1.5 tablespoons Chili Onion Crunch (we use the Trader Joe’s one)
• 1 to 1.5 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon sesame oil (go lighter first, you can always add more)
• A pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar
• Green onions (optional but delicious!)

How to Make Spicy Cucumber Salad

1. Slice the Persian cucumbers into thin rounds and add them to a bowl. (If you like the craggy, sauce-grabbing version, smash them lightly and chop instead.)
2. Thinly slice all the green onions and pile them in.
3. Add the Chili Onion Crunch, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and a pinch each of salt and sugar. Start with the smaller amounts.
4. Toss everything together until the cucumbers are well coated.
5. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes so the flavors come together and the cucumbers soak up the sauce.
6. Taste. If it needs more punch, add the rest of the Chili Onion Crunch (and a little more vinegar or sesame oil if you want). Serve cold.

Why We Love This Cucumber Salad

It is fast, it is forgiving, and it makes us look like we know exactly what we are doing in the kitchen. There is no cooking, no fancy knife work, and almost nothing to clean up. The Chili Onion Crunch does all the heavy lifting, so even on the busiest nights we can get a fresh, crunchy side on the table in the time it takes to slice a few cucumbers. It is the kind of recipe we text each other about, which feels very on brand for two sisters who bond over good food.

Tips for the Best Cucumber Salad

• Go light on the sesame oil to start. It is easy to add more and impossible to take out.
• Do not skip the 5 to 10 minute rest. That is when the cucumbers go from plain to crave-worthy.
• Persian cucumbers are our favorite here because they stay crunchy and have barely any seeds, but mini or English cucumbers work too.
• Want more heat? Add more Chili Onion Crunch. Want it milder? Spoon the crunchy bits from the top of the jar instead of the oil at the bottom.
• This salad is best the same day, while the cucumbers are still crunchy.

Whether you serve it next to grilled salmon, pile it over rice, or just eat it standing at the counter, we hope this spicy cucumber salad becomes one of your warm-weather staples too. Have you found another favorite way to use Chili Onion Crunch? Tell us in the comments, we are always looking for new ideas!

Craving another fresh, easy salad? Try our Copycat Zupas Green Goddess Salad next.

-xo The Threads Between