Japanese Style Cabbage and Cucumber Salad Recipe with Sesame Seeds

This Japanese style cabbage and cucumber salad recipe is made with quintessential Japanese ingredients such as sesame seeds and roasted seaweed, which give it a fantastic texture, while the dressing of rice vinegar, Japanese soy sauce, sesame oil, and grated ginger give it a delightful tartness. It’s the perfect side to Japanese fried chicken, pork tonkatsu and katsu burgers.

We’ve long adored Japanese food, especially Japanese comfort food, and the Japanese comfort food we enjoyed on our first trip to Tokyo, the first place we ever travelled overseas way back in the early Nineties. When we lived in Sydney, we’d go out regularly for Japanese, but at home in Siem Reap, where we’ll go out for sushi or izakaya-style food, we tend to cook Japanese food at home.

I love making this Japanese style cabbage and cucumber salad recipe as much as I love eating it, as it’s such a breeze to make and can be made within ten minutes. Although if you let it sit longer, it tastes even better as the cabbage softens and the flavours meld together. It’s one of our best cucumber salad recipes and one of our best cabbage recipes.

I adore this cucumber and cabbage salad so much that I’ve made it twice in the last week, while Terence has been testing his Japanese fried chicken recipe. They’re a perfect match. As is this Japanese potato salad recipe. Make all three recipes and you’ll have a very satisfying meal.

But before I tell you more about this Japanese style cucumber and cabbage salad, I have a favour to ask. Grantourismo is reader-supported. If you’ve enjoyed our recipes please consider supporting Grantourismo. There are numerous ways, but you could support our epic, original, first-of-its-kind Cambodian cookbook and cuisine history project on Patreon; buy a handcrafted KROK, the best mortar and pestle ever; book a cooking class or a meal with locals on EatWith; or buy something on Amazon, such as these cookbooks for culinary travellers or classic cookbooks for serious cooks.

Looking for more cooking inspo? Our archives are brimming with hundreds of recipes from around the world from places we’ve lived, worked, travelled and loved. And you can save your favourite recipes in your own private account by clicking on the heart on the right of any post. Now let me tell you more about this Japanese style cucumber and cabbage salad.

Japanese Style Cabbage and Cucumber Salad Recipe with Sesame Seeds and Roasted Seaweed

We’ll take a rowdy Japanese izakaya joint in Tokyo with its lively vibe and groups of boisterous Japanese friends over fancy omakase meals in silence in a characterless dining room any day, as eating out is as much about the food as the people and atmosphere for us.

As much as we enjoy savouring a sublime piece of tuna in a fancy restaurant, we’d actually much rather mingle with the locals in a crowded noisy eatery in a Tokyo suburb, especially if we’re eating Japanese comfort food favourites, such as fried chicken and salad.

Which is to explain this week’s recipe for a Japanese cabbage and cucumber salad and a Japanese fried chicken recipe. And we have more Japanese izakaya recipes coming. No long stories tonight, let me share my tips to making this Japanese style cabbage and cucumber salad recipe.

Tips to Making this Japanese Style Cabbage Cucumber Salad Recipe

Just a few tips to making this Japanese style cabbage cucumber salad with sesame seeds and roasted seaweed as it’s super easy to make and literally comes together in ten minutes.

I recommend starting with the cucumbers rather than the cabbage, as the cucumbers need to be salted. Slice the cucumbers lengthways, use a teaspoon to deseed them, then holding the lengths together, slice them into 1cm pieces, transfer them to a strainer over a tray, and sprinkle salt over them.

Next, transfer the shredded cabbage, finely sliced scallions/spring onions, grated fresh ginger, finely sliced roasted seaweed or nori sheets, and black sesame seeds and white sesame seeds, to a large mixing bowl, and combine everything really thoroughly.

Let that sit while you make your dressing by adding the Shichimi Togarashi Japanese Seven Spice (we recommend the S&B brand), Japanese sesame oil, Japanese soy sauce, Japanese rice vinegar, and mirin to a jar with lid, screw the cap on, and shake that jar vigorously.

But before you pour your dressing over the salad, return to your cucumbers: squeeze any excess liquid from the cucumbers and transfer them to the mixing bowl, then pour on the dressing and use a salad spoon to thoroughly combine the ingredients.

Make sure you taste the salad before serving it, and adjust the seasoning to suit your palate. When it’s to your liking, transfer the salad to a pretty Japanese bowl, sprinkle some more sesame seeds on top, and serve. Ideally with Japanese fried chicken or Japanese tonkatsu on the side, or even katsu burgers.

Japanese Style Cabbage Cucumber Salad Recipe

Japanese Style Cabbage and Cucumber Salad Recipe with Sesame Seeds

AuthorLara Dunston

This Japanese style cabbage and cucumber salad recipe is made with quintessential Japanese ingredients such as sesame seeds and roasted seaweed, which give it a fantastic texture, while the dressing of rice vinegar, Japanese soy sauce, sesame oil, and grated ginger give it a delightful tartness. It’s the perfect side to Japanese fried chicken, pork tonkatsu and katsu burgers.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 0 minutes mins

Total Time 10 minutes mins

Course Salad

Cuisine Japanese

Servings made with recipeServings 4

Calories 114 kcal

Equipment

Mixing Bowl

Salad Bowls

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

• 150 g cucumbers - deseeded, diced, salted, and drained
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 300 g white cabbage - shredded
• 8 scallions or spring onions - green part only, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger - , finely grated
• 2 roasted seaweed or nori sheets - thinly cut with scissors
• 3 tbsp black and white sesame seeds - half-half
• 1 tsp Shichimi Togarashi Japanese Seven Spice
• 1 tbsp Japanese sesame oil
• 2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Japanese rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp mirin

Instructions

 

• Slice the cucumbers lengthways, use a teaspoon to deseed them, then holding the lengths together, slice them into 1cm pieces, transfer them to a strainer over a tray, and sprinkle salt over them.
• Transfer the shredded cabbage, finely sliced scallions/spring onions, grated fresh ginger, finely sliced roasted seaweed or nori sheets, and black and white sesame seeds, to a large mixing bowl, and combine.
• Make the dressing by adding the Shichimi Togarashi Japanese Seven Spice, Japanese sesame oil, Japanese soy sauce, Japanese rice vinegar, and mirin to a jar with lid, screw the cap on, and shake the jar.
• Squeeze any excess liquid from the cucumbers, transfer them to the salad bowl, pour on the dressing, and use a salad spoon to thoroughly combine the ingredients.
• Taste, adjust the seasoning if needed, transfer to a salad bowl, sprinkle a pinch of sesame seeds on top of the salad, and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 114kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 4gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 1163mgPotassium: 311mgFiber: 4gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 492IUVitamin C: 33mgCalcium: 119mgIron: 2mg

Please do let us know in the comments below if you make our Japanese style cabbage cucumber salad recipe, as we’d love to know how it turned out for you.