This fresh and juicy cucumber and kale salad is inspired by flavours of Asian cuisine. For the dressing I turned to the Vietnamese nuóc châm – a balanced fusion of sweet, sour, salty, savory and spicy. In its simplest form, nuóc châm consists of water, sugar, lime juice, fish sauce and chilies. I also like to add a little bit of minced garlic for a more pungent flavour.
The Flavour Affair:
Cucumber + Kale + Nuóc Châm + Sesame Seeds + Coriander
Nuóc châm is already so flavourful that it doesn’t need much companionship. That said, sesame seeds contribute nicely with their earthy nuttiness, crunch and colour contrast. Coriander is a great finishing touch – I love how its fresh, slightly bittery taste adds lightness to savory dishes.
This combination makes a wonderful dressing for fresh vegetable salads and works particularly well with juicy cucumbers that are quick to absorb other flavours. I also decided to include kale into this salad to make it a bit more substantial and add a different texture.
If I had fresh chives or spring onions, I would have chopped some over for a little extra punch. But I didn’t, so I served extra chili flakes on the side for those of us who love a more noticeable kick.
Preparation tips for Cucumber and Kale Salad:
- Kale requires gentle massaging with something acidic like vinegar or lime/lemon juice to soften. Since I was already using lime for nuóc châm, I reserved a table spoon of juice for the kale.
- For the dressing, start by dissolving sugar in hot water. Use the recommended quantities but always taste and adjust for your individual preferences of sweet, salty and sour.
- If you have time, allow the sliced cucumbers to sit in 1/2 of the dressing for 5-10 minutes.
Serving suggestions:
I very much enjoy this salad as is for a light lunch or dinner. You can also easily serve it with white rice or as a side to fish, seafood or roasted chicken.
Looking for more Asian style greens? Why not try my Sesame Beans recipe!
***
Asian Style Cucumber and Kale Salad
Ingredients
- 4 large cucumbers sliced
- 1 pack of kale leaves stems removed
- 1/2 tbsp lime juice
- a handful fresh coriander leaves
- 1 tsp each white and black sesame seeds roasted
For the dressing:
- 2 tbsp hot water
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
- 1 small garlic clove, minced optional
Instructions
- Thoroughly wash the kale leaves. Add 1/2 tbsp lime juice and gently massage the leaves until they have softened.
- Prepare the dressing: add sugar to the hot water and stir to dissolve. Whisk in the rest of the dressing ingredients. Taste and adjust for salt, sweet or acid.
- Use 1/2 of the dressing to pour over the cucumbers. Let them sit for 5-10 minutes to take in the flavours of the dressing. (You can skip this step if you don't have the time)
- Add the cucumbers, kale and most of the coriander leaves to a serving bowl and give it a gentle mix.
- Drizzle with the rest of the dressing and top with sesame seeds and the remaining coriander leaves.
Notes
- You can swap fish sauce with soy sauce for a vegan version.
23 Responses
Hello there, simply was alert to your blog via Google, and found that it is truly informative. I’m gonna be careful for brussels. I will be grateful for those who continue this in future. Many other folks will probably be benefited from your writing. Cheers!
Yay google is my queen assisted me to find this great website ! .
Real excellent information can be found on web site. “Society produces rogues, and education makes one rogue more clever than another.” by Oscar Fingall O’Flahertie Wills Wilde.
I will right away seize your rss feed as I can not to find your email subscription hyperlink or newsletter service. Do you’ve any? Kindly allow me understand in order that I could subscribe. Thanks.
Hey There. I discovered your weblog using msn. That is a very smartly written article. I will make sure to bookmark it and return to learn more of your useful info. Thanks for the post. I’ll certainly comeback.
Awesome blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A theme like yours with a few simple adjustements would really make my blog shine. Please let me know where you got your theme. Kudos
Excellent website. A lot of useful info here. I am sending it to some pals ans also sharing in delicious. And of course, thank you for your sweat!
Some really prize content on this internet site, saved to fav.
I saw a lot of website but I believe this one has something extra in it in it
My brother suggested I may like this website. He used to be totally right. This publish truly made my day. You cann’t consider just how a lot time I had spent for this info! Thanks!
Hey There. I found your blog the usage of msn. That is an extremely well written article. I’ll make sure to bookmark it and return to learn more of your useful information. Thank you for the post. I will certainly comeback.
Nice post. I learn something more challenging on different blogs everyday. It will always be stimulating to read content from other writers and practice a little something from their store. I’d prefer to use some with the content on my blog whether you don’t mind. Natually I’ll give you a link on your web blog. Thanks for sharing.
hey there and thank you for your information – I have certainly picked up anything new from right here. I did however expertise a few technical issues using this website, since I experienced to reload the site many times previous to I could get it to load properly. I had been wondering if your web hosting is OK? Not that I am complaining, but sluggish loading instances times will often affect your placement in google and can damage your high-quality score if ads and marketing with Adwords. Well I’m adding this RSS to my email and could look out for much more of your respective fascinating content. Make sure you update this again very soon..
Hello.This article was really fascinating, particularly because I was investigating for thoughts on this matter last Monday.
Whats Going down i’m new to this, I stumbled upon this I have discovered It absolutely useful and it has aided me out loads. I’m hoping to give a contribution & aid other customers like its helped me. Great job.
Oh my goodness! an incredible article dude. Thank you Nonetheless I’m experiencing issue with ur rss . Don’t know why Unable to subscribe to it. Is there anybody getting equivalent rss problem? Anybody who is aware of kindly respond. Thnkx
I saw a lot of website but I think this one contains something extra in it in it
As soon as I observed this web site I went on reddit to share some of the love with them.
I really like what you guys tend to be up too. This sort of clever work and reporting! Keep up the very good works guys I’ve included you guys to my personal blogroll.
RUSA4D 🌴 Link Alternatif Situs Togel Terpercaya & Slot Anti-Rungkad Hari Ini.
Thank you, I have recently been searching for information about this subject for ages and yours is the best I have discovered till now. But, what about the bottom line? Are you sure about the source?
I have recently started a website, the info you provide on this website has helped me tremendously. Thanks for all of your time & work. “Everyone is responsible and no one is to blame.” by Will Schutz.
With havin so much content and articles do you ever run into any issues of plagorism or copyright violation? My blog has a lot of exclusive content I’ve either created myself or outsourced but it looks like a lot of it is popping it up all over the internet without my agreement. Do you know any ways to help stop content from being ripped off? I’d definitely appreciate it.