Thai basil cucumber salad

A refreshing summer salad fill of crispy cucumbers, fresh Thai basil, and a simple rice vinegar dressing, and topped with crunchy roasted peanuts.

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This time of year my garden is bursting with herbs, including one of my favorite - Thai basil! I love having fresh Thai basil because it's something we don't find at the grocery stores, so I really only get to cook with it during the mid/late summer and early fall when it's growing in our garden. 

I try to use it as much as possible during this time in fresh applications. However, I do preserve Thai basil frozen in olive oil to use all year in things like curry and stir fry.

Cucumber salad is something we eat a lot in the summer, too, when they are in season. Generally we eat them with sour cream, vinegar, sugar, and dill or with some Italian dressing and tomatoes. 

I remember when I visited Thailand having cucumber on the side of many dishes. I wanted to incorporate the Thai basil and other Asian flavors into a refreshing cucumber salad perfect for a hot summer day.

This salad goes well on the side of stir fries, spicy curry dishes, fried rice, noodle dishes, and more. We ate it recently with some grilled pork loin marinated in soy, garlic, and ginger along with a side of sticky rice. It was a delicious meal!

This salad has a lot of textures and flavors from just a few ingredients. As I mention below, you can play around with it and use some thinly sliced red onions or green onions, fresh lime juice, a pinch of red pepper or very thinly sliced Thai chili, or add a dash of fish sauce as well. 

All of these will enhance the flavors and texture more. I kept it basic for this recipe, and because I'm also feeding kids.

If you grow Thai basil, or have it available to you, give this salad a try for a bright and refreshing summer side dish.

Yield: 4 servings

Author: Amy (Savory Moments)

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Thai Basil Cucumber Salad

A refreshing summer salad fill of crispy cucumbers, fresh Thai basil, and a simple rice vinegar dressing, and topped with crunchy roasted peanuts.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1-1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• salt, to taste
• 1 pound cucumber, sliced into about 1/4 inch rounds (peel, if desired)
• 1/2 cup Thai basil leaves, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup roughly chopped roasted and salted peanuts

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, and a good pinch of salt. Toss in the cucumber and Thai basil leaves. Season for salt.
2. Chill for about one hour.
3. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with the peanuts.

Notes:

Other flavors that work well in this salad are fresh lime juice, fish sauce, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and/or thinly sliced red onion.

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I hope you give this Thai basil cucumber salad a try! Let me know in the comments below.

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Check out these other Thai-inspired recipes:

Thai Red Curry Dragon Fruit Chicken Salad

Kao Soi (Chiang Mai Curry Chicken & Noodle Soup)

Tom Kha Gai (Thai Chicken Coconut Soup)