Mango Cucumber Salad (Asian)

A bowl full of mangoes, tomatoes and cucumber salad.

4.98 from 38 votes

This Mango Cucumber Salad (Asian recipe) is a light and refreshing side dish full of tropical flavor. Quick and easy, it's a sweet, savory and crunchy recipe perfect for camping or a summer barbecue. Plus, unlike many salads, there is no sour cream or olive oil used, so it's healthier and less heavy!

Prep Time10

Cook Time5

Course: Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: Fusion

Servings: people

Calories: 63kcal

Author: Zen

Equipment

Small bowl and fork To mix the sauce
Large bowl and salad spoons To mix the salad
Airtight container To store the salad in the fridge before serving

Ingredients

Salad sauce

2 Tablespoons White sugar Substitute: neutral honey. I don't recommend brown sugar.
4 Tablespoons Hot water To dissolve the white sugar
2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
1½-2 Tablespoons Fresh Lime Juice I like calamansi lime but you can use key lime juice, rice vinegar or 1 of these substitutes.
3-4 Garlic cloves Peeled and minced
1 Fresh red chilies Optional. Deseed and slice thinly

Salad ingredients

1 ripe mango Peeled, de-seeded and cut into ½ inch cubes. Flesh should be firm but not hard. Ripe mangoes emit a sweet smell and you may see some juice flowing out even when the mango is uncut. You can use more mango if you want a sweeter salad but I find 1 is enough as this is a summer side dish not dessert!
1 Japanese cucumber Cut into ½ inch cubes. No need to skin or de-seed. Substitute: English cucumber or Persian Cucumber. I don't recommend conventional cucumber as they have thicker skin and bigger seeds- you will need to skin with a potato peeler and de-seed to get the same taste. (More work!)
¼-½ red onion Peeled and minced. You can use other onions or shallots. If you find the raw taste too pungent, soak in ice water for 5-10 minutes to soften the flavor.
1 sprig spring onions Sliced. Substitute or supplement with cilantro, mint or 1 of these scallion substitutes
20 cherry tomatoes Quartered. You can substitute with bell peppers- if so, use more mango as bell peppers aren't as sweet as cherry tomatoes.

Instructions

Make the sauce

Pour the hot water over the sugar and mix till dissolved then combine well with the other ingredients.
Note: if using honey, you can just mix everything together.

Mix the salad

Mix all the ingredients with the sauce.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 hour for best flavor. If not, can be eaten immediately too.

Notes

Variations

Add some avocado to make the salad a bit creamier or poached shrimp or shredded chicken to add protein and make the recipe more filling.

Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its accuracy.

Nutrition