Crispy Cucumber & Carrot Salad: Easy Recipe Guide

Cucumber and carrot salad is a refreshing, crunchy dish often served as an appetizer or a side with main courses. With its light flavor and easy preparation, this salad is sure to be a wonderful choice for family meals. Join “Sổ Tay Món Ăn” (Recipe Handbook) as we discover how to make a delicious, simple, and crispy cucumber and carrot salad!

Cucumber and carrot salad is not only delicious but also highly nutritious, providing essential vitamins and minerals for the body. Get started now to treat your family!

Ingredients

• Cucumber: 5
• Carrot: A small amount (about 1 small piece)
• Garlic: 10 gr
• Chili: 2
• Basil: A small amount
• Roasted sesame seeds: A small amount
• Lime juice: 1 tbsp
• Seasonings: 10 gr (soup powder, sugar, salt, fish sauce)

Ingredients for making cucumber and carrot salad

Instructions

Prepare Carrots

Peel the carrots and use a peeler to shred them into long, thin strips. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of sugar to the carrots, then mix well to let the carrots absorb the seasonings. Marinate the carrots for about 3 minutes, then rinse thoroughly with water, and immerse them in a bowl of ice water to make them crispier and more delicious.

Preparing the carrots for salad

Prepare Other Ingredients

Halve the cucumbers and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Cut the cucumbers into slices about 1cm thick. Then, soak the cut cucumbers in a bowl of ice water for about 20 minutes to make them crispier and more delicious.

Pick off any wilted basil leaves, wash thoroughly, and then chop into thin pieces. Peel and wash the garlic, then finely mince it. Remove the stems from the chilies, wash, deseed, and finely mince.

Note: The cucumber seeds will make the salad watery and less crispy, so you should discard them. Do not cut the cucumbers too small, as this will cause them to lose their crispness.

Preparing other ingredients for the salad

Make the Salad Dressing

Place a pot on the stove, add 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of vegetarian fish sauce, and 1 tablespoon of lime juice. Stir well until the mixture boils and the sugar dissolves, then turn off the heat. Pour the lime-fish sauce mixture into a bowl, then add the minced garlic and chili, and stir well.

Mixing the dressing for the salad

Mix the Salad

After soaking, drain the cucumbers and carrots and place them on a plate, then add the fresh herbs. Drizzle the prepared salad dressing evenly over the plate and sprinkle with a little roasted sesame seeds to complete.

Tossing the cucumber and carrot salad

Finished Dish

The cucumber and carrot salad, with its rich, sweet, and sour dressing, combined with crispy, refreshing carrots and cucumbers, is incredibly appealing!

Finished crispy cucumber and carrot salad

Tips for Choosing Fresh Ingredients

How to Choose Cucumbers

• Choose cucumbers with a bright, vibrant green color, relatively even, without bruises or yellowish spots, as these are signs that the cucumber has been stored for too long and is starting to spoil.
• Choose straight cucumbers, or those that are only slightly curved. Long, evenly sized cucumbers are usually solid and will be crispier and tastier than short, round ones.
• Opt for firm, heavy cucumbers with smooth skin and no bumps. Smaller cucumbers tend to be sweeter than larger ones.
• Avoid purchasing cucumbers that are bulging in the middle or have one end significantly larger than the other, as these are typically overripe, contain many tough seeds, and are not as flavorful.
• If you accidentally buy bitter cucumbers, you can peel them to remove the bitterness.

How to Choose Carrots

• Choose carrots that are slender, medium-sized, still have their leafy tops, and feel firm to the touch, not too soft. Do not choose carrots that are bruised, cracked, incomplete, or missing a piece.
• Select carrots with intact, smooth, unblemished skin, free of dark spots.
• Choose carrots with a consistent orange color; avoid those that are too dark, as they may have been treated with chemicals.

Tips for a Crispy Salad That Won’t Get Watery

• Cucumbers should have their seeds removed to prevent the salad from becoming watery when mixed.
• After cutting, cucumbers and carrots should be soaked in diluted salt water, then in ice water for 30 minutes to make them crispier.
• When preparing the salad dressing, simmer it in a pot until it slightly thickens; this will help prevent the salad from releasing too much water when mixed!

Try how to make shrimp and cucumber salad for more family meal options!

Conclusion

Cucumber and carrot salad is an easy-to-make, delicious, and highly nutritious dish. With the detailed instructions above, you can confidently prepare this salad to treat your family. Try it now and experience the wonderful flavor of this cucumber and carrot salad!

If you wish to experiment with other types of salads, refer to how to make water lily stem salad for more meal choices.

We wish you success and delicious meals!