These easy and delicious Asian Quick Pickled Cucumbers are ready in 5 minutes, and make a great cooling side dish in summer! (I show you how to make 2 versions: 1 that can be immediately after tossing in the brine (the 5-min recipe) but is quite strongly flavoured and a 2nd that has a milder flavor and needs to pickle for 15- 30 minutes.)
Jump to:
⭐ Why This Recipe is a Star
- Quick and easy: like my pickled green chilies recipe, these Asian Quick Pickled Cucumbers come together in 5 minutes (or however long it takes you to chop the cucumbers really!) Plus, no special ingredients- everything is readily available at the grocery store.
- Delicious: they're sweet and sour and crunchy! Goes really well with a bowl of rice, sushi, baked sushi, gochujang salmon or in burgers! The extra brine can also be mixed with gochujang aioli or kimchi aioli to lift the flavor. (But don't re-use the brine for more pickles as the vegetables soak up the vinegar and make it less acidic.)
- They're super versatile: they're a great side dish for creamy or rich recipes to cut the fat, such as soy sauce pork belly and spicy shrimp poke rice bowl. Or use them in Vietnamese salads, banh mi or Chinese pork belly bao buns! If you want some variety, you can toss in other vegetables such as daikon radish, carrots, onions, peppers and green beans.
Note: this is a ready-to-eat quick pickle recipe that won't be stored for long. For pickling as food preservation, the acidity of the vinegar and the water: vinegar ratio is crucial for food safety and preventing botulism.
🥘 Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients for this basic quick pickle recipe:
- cucumbers: I like Japanese cucumbers (Kyuri)- they are thin and almost seedless, making them perfect for this quick recipe. However, you may need to go to the Asian market for them. If not, you can use Persian (thin-skinned too) or English cucumbers which are more readily available. It's best to scrape out the centres of the English ones first as it's quite high in water content. If you use cucumbers that have bigger seeds, they won't be as tasty unless you deseed them first. Choose ones that are firm to the touch and are unwaxed and remember to remove the blossoms, as these contain enzymes that make your pickle soft!
- white sugar: sure, you can use less sugar than my recipe specifies (I've done that when trying to be healthy!) but note that the acid notes will be quite harsh without the sugar to dilute them. Honestly, I'd say the sugar I specified is really the minimum necessary for that sweet and sour flavor! If you're still not convinced, add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and taste for yourself! (Fun fact: I find that adding chilies helps to decrease the amount of sugar you need to add!) Remember to use bone-char free sugar for vegan pickles.
- salt: substitute with soy sauce or tamari if on a gluten-free diet
- vinegar: I use regular rice vinegar for this recipe most of the time but also apple cider vinegar and white wine vinegar when I run out. Seasoned rice vinegar also works but remember to add less sugar.
- water, optional: If you want to eat the pickles immediately after making them, don't dilute with water. However, the flavor can be slightly too mouth-puckering! For a more palatable taste, dilute the vinegar with some water and let the cucumbers sit for a bit before feasting. (If you live in an area with hard water, that'll interfere with the taste so use distilled or filtered water, if necessary.)
Note: This makes a basic quick pickle brine. Feel free to give it your own twist by adding other veggies or your favorite spices and aromatics such as ginger! (But don't use powdered spices as this makes the brine cloudy.)
📖 Variations & Substitutes
- For a Thai twist: use shallots and small bird's eye chilies (but be careful, they're hot! You might want to remove the seeds first)
- For a Vietnamese twist: add some julienned carrots and white radish
- For a Korean twist: add some sesame seeds, gochugaru pepper flakes and sesame oil (Korean recipes often have garlic but do note that garlic can lead to botulism if the acidity is not right, so I haven't recommended it here.)
- For a Chinese twist: use soy sauce instead of salt, and add sesame oil as well as some spices such as Sichuan peppercorns and dried chilies. You can even increase the soy sauce: vinegar ratio so that the savory flavor is more powerful than the sour one in the quick pickled asian vegetables! (These soy pickles make very good toppings for rice porridge.)
- For a Japanese twist: to make sunomono (which is a type of tsukemono, or Japanese pickle)- goes really well with sushi and teriyaki salmon!- add dried wakame seaweed and dilute the vinegar with some dashi stock. (The vinegar: sugar ratio should be 2:1.)
🔪 Step-by-Step Instructions
1a. Slice the cucumbers and other ingredients you're using (e.g. shallots) as thinly as possible. (See Tips for how to make them extra crunchy.)
1b. Mix the brine ingredients in a glass jar, with an airtight seal, such as a Mason Jar. Close tightly then shake till everything is mixed and the sugar is dissolved.
Note: you can shake the brine alone or add the cucumbers and shake, as shown above.
2. Add the cucumbers and veg to the brine. You can enjoy the Asian Quick Pickles straight away. Alternatively, if you diluted the brine with water, you can leave for 15-30 minutes at room temperature or overnight in the fridge for more flavor.
Yes the recipe will still work but note that the round shape is more Asian. Cucumber spears are more of an American pickle. Also, you may need to increase the pickling time, as the cucumbers will be thicker, and the acid will need more time to work its way in.
🥡 How to Store
Store the cucumbers in the fridge for 3-5 days. (The color will become duller after 1 day.) Any longer and they'll lose their crisp and crunchy texture or become unsafe to eat!
Unfortunately, the recipe is not freezer-friendly.
Note: If you want to keep them longer, use Kirby's cucumbers which have thicker skins- they're not good for quick pickling but can keep the crunch even after sitting in the brine for days. Also, make sure the veggies are submerged in the brine!
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
Tip #1: Since this is an Asian quick pickle recipe, I suggest slicing the cucumbers thinly so that the flavors in the brine can permeate the cucumber ASAP. (A mandolin would help.) Some recipes do a rough chop which I don't recommend unless you smash the cucumbers first OR have more time to infuse the greens.
Tip #2: Wash the cucumbers thoroughly, especially the part near the stems which sometimes contains soil.
Tip #3: For extra crunchy cucumber pickle, salt them, rinse then soak in ice water for 4-5 hours before pickling. (Honestly, this isn't necessary since the cucumbers won't be sitting in the brine for long but just in case you wanted to know!)
🥗 Suggested Accompanying Recipes
Enjoyed this simple Quick Pickle Recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below! If you REALLY liked these Asian Quick Pickled Cucumbers, please consider supporting it by buying me more cucumbers! 🙂 (No obligation though!) Thank you and have a great day!
Asian Quick Pickled Cucumbers (5-min)
Equipment
- Glass or ceramic container with airtight seal.
Ingredients
- 1-2 cucumbers (2 cucumbers if you're not adding other veggies and 1 if you're supplementing with others!) Use Japanese cucumbers (Kyuri), Persian (thin-skinned too) or English cucumbers. For English, It's best to scrape out the centres as they are quite high in water content. If you use cucumbers that have bigger seeds, they won't be as tasty unless you deseed them first. Choose ones that are firm to the touch and are unwaxed.
- 1 Cup white rice vinegar Substitute: apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar or seasoned rice vinegar (remember to add less sugar for the last.)
- water optional: If you want to eat the pickles immediately after making them, don't dilute with water. However, the flavor can be slightly too mouth-puckering! For a more palatable taste, dilute the vinegar brine with the water and let the cucumbers sit for a bit before feasting. (If you live in an area with hard water, that'll interfere with the taste so use distilled or filtered water, if necessary.)
- ⅓ Cup white sugar, minimum You can use less sugar but note that the acid notes will be quite harsh without the sugar to dilute them. (I've tested it.) Honestly, I'd say the sugar I specified is really the minimum necessary for that sweet and sour flavor! (I would have gone up to ½ or even ¾ Cup if I wasn't trying to be healthy. If you're still not convinced, add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time and taste for yourself!) I find that adding chilies helps to decrease the amount of sugar you need to add! Remember to use bone-char free sugar for vegan pickles.
- 1 teaspoon salt substitute with soy sauce or tamari if on a gluten-free diet
- onions, carrots, radish, chilies, scallions etc optional
Instructions
- Wash the cucumbers, paying attention to the stem area. Remove the blossoms, as these contain enzymes that make your pickle soft then slice as thinly as possible. The thinner the slices, the quicker the pickle.
- Slice the cucumbers and other ingredients you're using (e.g. shallots) as thinly as possible. (See Tips for how to make them extra crunchy.)
- Mix the brine ingredients in a glass jar, with an airtight seal, such as a Mason Jar. Close tightly then shake till everything is mixed and the sugar is dissolved.
- Add the cucumbers and veg to the brine. You can enjoy the Asian Quick Pickles straight away. Alternatively, if you diluted the brine with water, you can leave for 15-30 minutes at room temperature or overnight in the fridge for more flavor.
Notes
Nutrition
If this easy quick pickle recipe was helpful, maybe you'd like to sign up for my newsletter in which I send you more authentic Asian recipes?
Lisa says
Are you able to keep reusing the brine to pickle more cucumbers or do you need to create new brine everytime?
Zen says
Hi Lisa, thanks for popping by! If handled and stored propertly, you could reuse the brine once more but note the taste will be more diluted (as the cucumbers release water.) The best way to do it would be to add a few more tablespoons of sugar and vinegar to the reused brine (You wouldn't need to add as much as when making the recipe the first time.) Also note that this is only for pickles that will be eaten immediately and NOT as food preservation (as the acidity of the brine is very important for longer term pickling.) Hope this helps!
Cara says
These were delicious in my burger! Thank you
Zen says
Yay! Glad u enjoyed them Cara! Burgers are perfect for summer too!