Skip to main content
Salad

Cucumber Ribbon Salad

A cucumber ribbon salad dressed with seasoned rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and sugar.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 5 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Sesame and cucumber match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 364 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓

Cucumber Ribbon Salad

Ingredients

Directions

Make the dressing

  1. Bring vinegar and sugar to a simmer, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then cool to room temperature.

  2. Stir in soy sauce and sesame oil.

Slice and dress

  1. Cut cucumber lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick ribbons using a mandoline or other manual slicer.

  2. Toss cucumber with dressing and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

197Calories
2 gProtein
14 gFat
17 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sesame1 tbsp (14g)120
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Cucumber1/2 cup sliced (52g)16
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Sesame + cucumbertop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together364 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  2. Rice + sesametop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together984 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  3. Rice + cucumbertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together734 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  4. Vinegar + cucumbertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,734 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyl acetate (fruit).

  5. Vinegar + sesametop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,133 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-hydroxy-3-butanone (caramel-like, roast).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cucumber
Provides the crisp, watery bulk that makes up most of the salad.
Rice vinegar
Adds the bright acidity that keeps the dressing lively against the cucumber.
Sugar
Balances the vinegar's sharpness with a little sweetness.
Soy sauce
Adds salt and savoury depth to the dressing.
Sesame oil
Contributes toasty aroma and a little fat to the dressing.

The step that matters

Let the dressed cucumber stand 5 minutes. Cucumber is mostly water, and the salt in soy sauce draws some of that liquid out. Standing briefly softens the ribbons slightly and blends the flavours, but waiting too long will thin the dressing and wilt the crispness, so serve soon after the rest.

Swap the cucumber

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, vinegar, sugar, sauce, sesame):

  1. Mustardfits about as well
  2. Capsicumfits about as well
  3. Cucumberthe original
  4. Welsh onionfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against rice, vinegar, sugar, sauce, sesame. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

You might also like

Chicken SaladChicken Salad623 recipesSalad DressingSalad Dressing491 recipesTomato SaladTomato Salad179 recipesCold SlawCold Slaw160 recipes