Make this fresh Korean-style cucumber and chive salad with our easy and tasty recipe. Cucumbers and garlic chives are tossed in a red hot chili pepper powder (gochugaru), soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, and a few other common ingredients.
It’s just about the end of the cucumber harvesting season here where we are located. However, since we have had an abundance of cucumbers, we had to make this quick and easy cucumber and chive salad to share with you. This style of Korean salad is intended to be eaten immediately and not left to ferment like traditional kimchi.
Garlic chives (buchu)
The specific chive we are using in this recipe is allium tuberosum. There are many other names this chive species goes by such as garlic chives, Oriental garlic, Asian chives, Chinese chives, or Chinese leek. They are a perennial plant and are very easy to grow in many parts of the United States. They are cold-hardy for USDA Zones 4-10.
In Korea, this particular chive is known as buchu (부추) and is widely used in Korean cuisine. You will find these garlic chives being used in kimchi, dumplings (mandu), can be eaten fresh (namul), or in savory pancakes (pajeon) just to name a few. We have several recipes that use garlic chives, such as Korean Garlic Chives Salad (Buchu Muchim), Korean Soybean Paste Stew with Mugwort & Wild Chives (Doenjang Guk with Ssuk and Dallae), or Spinach & Chive Fresh Kimchi (Geotjeori 겉절이). So if you get your hands on any, don’t worry, there are many different recipes to use them in.
Key features and tips
The combination of the cucumbers with the chives is so good! If you want to add in more spice, feel free to add in a little bit more red hot chili pepper flakes (gochugaru). Just be careful and add in a little at a time and then taste test.
Garlic chives (buchu) can typically be found in your local Asian grocery market. You may also be able to find these chives at your farmers’ market or a well-stocked grocery store. My mom grows these chives in her garden, so she always has some on hand during the growing season. They’re so easy to grow yourself too! Here is a link to some seeds we found online.
By www.aziatische-ingredienten.nl, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link
Ingredients needed to make this salad
- Pickling cucumbers
- Garlic chives (buchu)
- Garlic, minced
- Korean red chili pepper powder (gochugaru)
- Ground black pepper
- Sugar
- Fish sauce
- Soy sauce (use Tamari for gluten-free friendly recipe)
- Salt
- White vinegar
How to make Korean-style cucumber and chive salad
Step 1: Slice the cucumbers
Cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise. Then thinly slice them on the diagonal to make the half-moon shape.
Step 2: Mix everything together gently and enjoy!
Mix together all of the ingredients gently so you do not bruise the cumbers or chives. Enjoy!
We hope you enjoy our Korean-style fresh cucumber and chive salad recipe!
Need more side dish recipes?
- Korean Stir-fried Spicy Fish Cakes
- Stir-Fried Poke Salad (Sallet) Stems
- Korean White Kimchi (Baek Kimchi)
- Easy Asian Pan-Fried Zucchini
- Easy Napa Cabbage Korean Kimchi – Cut-Up Kimchi
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Korean-style Fresh Cucumber and Chive Salad
Cucumbers and garlic chives are tossed in a red hot chili pepper powder (gochugaru), soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, and a few other common ingredients.
Ingredients
- 3 pickling cucumbers, about 2 ½ - 3 cups after sliced
- 1 cup garlic chives (buchu), cut in 2” length pieces
- 1 tsp garlic, minced
- 3 Tbsp Korean red chili pepper powder (gochugaru)
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce*
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp white vinegar
Instructions
- Cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise. Then thinly slice them on the diagonal to make the half-moon shape.
- Mix together all of the ingredients gently so you do not bruise the cumbers or chives.
- Enjoy!
Notes
*Use Tamari if needing a gluten-free version of this recipe - like this one.
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