Din Tai Fung Cucumber Salad

Photo from CJ Eats

Our dinner club recently visited Din Tai Fung, and the BFF insisted that we order their famous cucumber salad. I'd heard people rave about it before, but somehow I'd never actually tried it myself.

One bite and I completely understood the hype.

Ever since that dinner, I've been on a mission to find a recipe that comes as close as possible to the original. I'm sure the exact recipe is a closely guarded secret, but this version gets remarkably close. In fact, it's so good that I've become a little obsessed with it. By "a little," I mean I've been making it almost every single day.

The secret is taking the time to salt the cucumbers and let them rest before adding the dressing. That extra step pulls out excess moisture and keeps the cucumbers crisp. As a bonus, the salad holds up much better in the refrigerator and doesn't turn watery or slimy after a day or two.

My grand plan is to make a batch at the beginning of the week and have it ready whenever a craving strikes. So far, however, that strategy hasn't worked out very well. I've only been making single servings because I keep eating the entire bowl in one sitting.

No regrets. Burp!

Din Tai Fung Cucumber Salad

Recipe from CJ Eays Recipes

Serves 4

• 1 lb cucumber, Persian or English
• 1/2 tbsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1/2 tbsp chili oil
• 1/2 tbsp sesame oil

To prepare the Din Tai Fung Cucumber Salad dressing, mix together light soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, grated garlic, chili oil, and sesame oil. Whisk them together and your dressing is ready!

Begin preparing your cucumbers by slicing them into 1/2″ rounds. Once your cucumbers are uniformly sliced, place them in a bowl and mix the cucumbers with salt, then let them sit for 30 minutes. Next, rinse off the salt and pat them as dry as possible with a kitchen or paper towel.

The salt will help to draw out excess moisture for the cucumbers through osmosis which will result in a more crisp vegetable.

Once the cucumbers are as dry as possible, add them to the dressing and mix them well to get each piece coating in that delicious dressing. Let them sit in the marinade for at least 10 minutes then stack them up and enjoy!

If you are making Din Tai Fung Cucumber Salad ahead of time, make sure to transfer them into an air tight storage container up to 2-3 days in advance.

Once the cucumbers are stacked beautifully, the final step is to add an additional drop of chili oil to each cucumber for that pop of color and spice! Serve and enjoy!