Recipe · By Marc Dessein · 2 November 2026

Sunomono (Japanese cucumber salad)

Name: Sunomono (Japanese cucumber salad)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 2 Japanese cucumbers (600 g); 2 teaspoons salt; 3 tablespoons rice vinegar; 3 tablespoons sugar

Thin cucumber slices in their dressing, in an open glass jar with an orange seal, on a wooden table

Serves4
ServeWell chilled

Serves 4. Per serving, about 60 kcal and 1 g of protein.

Total time: about 55 min (including 30 min in the fridge)

Sunomono is a Japanese vinegared cucumber salad. The slices, cut as thin as you can, sit in salt for ten minutes, then you rinse and squeeze them before pouring over rice vinegar sweetened with sugar. After that it needs half an hour in the fridge before serving.

Method

Pick fresh cucumbers with firm, smooth skin.
Wash the cucumbers and slice them as thinly as you can, with a mandoline or a knife.
Put the slices in a bowl with the salt and mix well to coat.
Tip them into a large sieve set over the bowl and leave to drain for 10 minutes.
Rinse well under running water to wash off the salt. Taste a slice and, if it is still too salty, rinse again. Squeeze with your hands to get rid of the excess liquid. Set aside.
In a saucepan, mix the rice vinegar and sugar.
Warm over a low heat just until the sugar dissolves, without letting it boil. Leave to cool.
Put the cucumbers back in a bowl and dress them with the dressing, at room temperature or cold. Adjust the salt if needed.
Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.