Starting this summer, cucumber salads have been the newest viral food trend on social media. The trend started after user @logagm on TikTok, otherwise known as Logan, started posting a wide variety of cucumber salad recipes. He has popularized recipes inspired by the classic restaurant Din Tai Fung cucumber, an everything bagel, a California sushi roll, jalapeno poppers and more. Many of his recipes take inspiration from traditional Asian cuisines. I decided to try out two of his most popular cucumber salads.
The first recipe I made was the soy and fish sauce cucumber. As the name implies, the dressing for this salad is made with soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, salt, sesame oil and a clove of grated garlic. This recipe was delicious. All of the unique flavors paired so well together and created the perfect simple and tasty cucumber salad. The dressing is very light, so the recipe is not very filling, but it is perfect if you are looking for a quick and light meal. I would recommend marinating the cucumber slices in the sauce before eating if you would like to enhance the flavor. I will definitely be making this recipe again, as it was easy to make and delectable.
Next, I tried the peanut butter cucumber salad. To make the dressing, I combined peanut butter, soy sauce, salt, chili crisp, rice vinegar, grated garlic and sesame oil. This recipe was easily my favorite out of the two that I tried. The chili crisp added the perfect flavor and slight heat and enhanced the taste of the peanut butter. I found that using more runny peanut butter works best with this recipe because it mixes a lot better. I used the Santa Cruz brand. Unlike the first recipe, the recipe with peanut butter is filling and makes a simple and delicious lunch. It can also be eaten right away and does not need to soak to get the most of the flavor. I have been obsessed with this recipe, and have already made it multiple times after first trying it.
