Filipino Cucumber Salad

This Filipino Cucumber Salad also known as Filipino pickled cucumber, is a simple and refreshing that’s quick and easy to make. The cool and tangy flavors are a perfect as a side dish or main dish to match anything that’s been fried or grilled. I like it as an appetizer or enjoy it by itself.

If you love zesty flavors paired with crisp cucumber, onion, and garlic, then this would be the perfect dish to try today. Also, if you are watching your calorie intake, this pickled cucumber is nutritious, low-calorie, and weight loss approved.

In the Philippines, Filipino Cucumber Salad is also called ensaladang pipino or atcharang pipino. No matter what we call it, we all know how tasty it is. We like to eat it by the end of the day to keep the crispness and flavor of the salad or keep it in the fridge to make it as pickled cucumber and enjoy it in a couple of days or weeks.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• This recipe is incredibly easy to make and is ready in less than 10 minutes. Utilizing very few simple ingredients, most of which you can probably find in your fridge and pantry most of the time.
• If you’re looking for the perfect side dish for your summer cookouts and family dinners, this ensaladang pipino is for you! It’s a tasty salad to your favorite grilled meat and barbeques.
• If you like this cucumber salad, try my salted egg salad with tomato, my pickled cherry tomato, and my shrimp avocado summer salad.

What is Ensaladang Pipino

Ensalada means salad in Tagalog, while pipino means cucumber. This is a Filipino-style salad with a light and tangy Filipino-style vinaigrette for the dressing. The cucumber is crisp and refreshing, which you will be going to enjoy.

What is the best cucumber to use for the salad?

I like Japanese or Persian cucumbers for their thinner skin, so they are crunchier. These cucumbers also have fewer seeds, unlike regular cucumbers that have thicker skin. If you have a mandolin, this would be the perfect time to take it out and use it. They create the perfect size slice every single time, and you can create thinner rounds consistently compared to if you were going to hand slice it.

Ingredients

• Cucumber - Also known as pipino in Tagalog. Any type of cucumber is fine to use. You can leave the peel or remove it. Make sure to slice them thinly.
• Onion and Garlic - I love the additional flavor from these aromatics.
• Vinegar - Vinegar serves as the dressing while it also serves as a pickling solution when you submerge the cucumber and leave it overnight in the fridge. You can use white or apple cider vinegar, depending what you have on hand.
• Sugar, Salt, and Black Pepper - For seasonings.

How to make Cucumber Salad

Slice the cucumbers on a mandolin, or hand slices them thinly. Slice the garlic and red onion into half moons.

Transfer sliced cucumber and tomato into a mixing bowl. Combine chopped garlic, vinegar, sugar, salt, and black pepper in a separate small bowl, and stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Pour the vinaigrette dressing into the mixing bowl. Mix everything until well incorporated. Enjoy!