The Cheesecake Factory Asian Cucumber Salad Recipe, With the Numbers Behind the Marinade
The Cheesecake Factory's published method cures thick Persian cucumber rounds with salt and sugar, drains them, then marinates them for at least 30 minutes in seasoned rice vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, chili oil, soy sauce, salt, garlic and red jalapeño. By USDA figures, nearly all the calories and sodium sit in the marinade, not the cucumbers.
Original recipe: The Cheesecake Factory. The step-by-step method and the numbers on this page are ours.
Why This Recipe Works
- The cucumbers contribute almost nothing: a pound of them is about 68 calories. The marinade, before even counting the seasoned vinegar, carries about 1,340 calories and 5,100 mg of sodium, so the amount that reaches your plate decides what you eat.
- The 30-minute cure pulls water out of the rounds before they meet the marinade, so the dressing isn't diluted by cucumber juice.
- Rounds cut 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick keep their crunch through both the cure and the marinade. Thin slices go limp.
- Seasoned rice vinegar already contains sugar and salt, which is why the recipe can use a full cup of it without tasting harsh.
Flavor Profile
Cold, crunchy and sweet-sharp, with toasted sesame, a light soy savoriness and a slow chili finish. Garlic and red jalapeño add bite without taking over from the cucumber.
Ingredients
- 1 lbPersian cucumbersabout 3 to 4, depending on size
- 1 tspCoarse saltfor the cure
- 1/2 tspGranulated sugarfor the cure
- 1 cupSeasoned rice vinegarmarinade
- 1/2 cupToasted sesame oilmarinade
- 5 tbspGranulated sugarmarinade
- 1 tbspChili oilmarinade; more or less to taste
- 1 1/2 tspLight soy saucemarinade
- 2 tspCoarse saltmarinade
- 1 cloveGarlicthinly sliced
- 5 slicesRed jalapeño1/8 inch thick, seeded and halved
Equipment
- Sharp chef's knife
- Cutting board
- Large mixing bowl
- Lidded container for marinating
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Slotted spoon, for serving
Instructions
- 1
Cut thick rounds
Trim both ends from each cucumber. Holding the knife at a slight angle, cut rounds 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick along the whole length.
Visual Success Cues:- Rounds are visibly thick and roughly the same size
- 2
Cure for 30 minutes
Toss the rounds in a bowl with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon sugar, then leave them for 30 minutes.
Visual Success Cues:- Liquid pools in the bottom of the bowl
- The rounds are still firm
- 3
Mix the marinade
Meanwhile, stir the seasoned rice vinegar, sesame oil, 5 tablespoons sugar, chili oil, soy sauce, 2 teaspoons salt, garlic and jalapeño together in the lidded container until the sugar dissolves.
- 4
Drain the cucumbers
Pour away all the liquid the cucumbers released. Don't rinse them.
Visual Success Cues:- No liquid left in the bowl
- 5
Marinate, chill and serve
Add the cucumbers to the marinade, seal the container and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, stirring now and then. Serve cold, lifted out with a slotted spoon.
Visual Success Cues:- Every round looks glossy
Pro Tips to Nail It
- Serve the cucumbers with a slotted spoon. Each tablespoon of marinade left behind is roughly 45 calories and 175 mg of sodium you don't eat, before counting the vinegar.
- Keep the two salt measurements apart: 1 teaspoon for the cure, 2 teaspoons in the marinade.
- Drain every drop of cure liquid, but don't rinse the cucumbers. Rinsing washes off seasoning the cure added.
- Stir while it chills. Otherwise the rounds on top sit above the marinade and stay bland.
- Change the heat with the chili oil only. The restaurant's recipe note allows it, and it leaves the sweet-sour balance alone.
- Buy Persian cucumbers if you can. They're small, thin-skinned and nearly seedless, which suits thick rounds.
Estimated Nutrition
Per serving- Calories
- 433 calories
- Total fat
- 30.7 g
- Saturated fat
- 4.4 g
- Carbohydrates
- 36.7 g
- Sugars
- 34.1 g
- Protein
- 1.0 g
- Sodium
- 2486 mg
- Fiber
- 0.7 g
Estimated per side-dish serving from all listed ingredients, as an upper bound: it assumes all of the curing salt and all of the marinade are eaten. Served with a slotted spoon, the real figure is lower, because most of the oil, sugar and salt stay in the container.
Reference values: USDA FoodData Central. These are our estimates for the home version.
Troubleshooting Guide
The marinade turns watery
Cause: Liquid from the cure went into the container with the cucumbers.
Fix: Drain the bowl completely before the marinade goes on.
The cucumbers go soft
Cause: The rounds were cut thinner than 1/2 inch.
Fix: Cut thicker rounds next time so they hold their structure.
Some pieces taste bland
Cause: They sat above the marinade while chilling.
Fix: Stir the container a few times while it's in the fridge.
It tastes much sharper than expected
Cause: Unseasoned rice vinegar was used.
Fix: Use seasoned rice vinegar, which carries the sugar and salt the recipe is balanced around.
Variations & Substitutions
- Lower-sodium: Leave out the 2 teaspoons of salt in the marinade and keep everything else. That removes about 4,650 mg of sodium from the batch, roughly 1,160 mg a serving, and the seasoned vinegar and soy still season it.
- Milder: Halve the chili oil and scrape every seed out of the jalapeño slices.
- English cucumber: Use one seedless English cucumber of about a pound and cut it to the same thickness. The rounds are wider and the texture a little different, but the method doesn't change.
Storage, Reheating & Make-Ahead
Keep it covered in the fridge and serve it cold. The recipe calls for at least 30 minutes of marinating and gives no upper limit, so we don't invent a shelf life. Don't heat or freeze it.
Copycat vs Restaurant: Cost & Taste
The restaurant's Asian Cucumber Salad lists 470 calories, 37 grams of fat and 1,850 mg of sodium. Its 37 grams of fat is about what 3 tablespoons of sesame oil contain, and the published marinade uses half a cup, so most of the difference between a light plate and a heavy one is how much dressing comes with the cucumbers.
Serve It With
More Recipe Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is this The Cheesecake Factory's own recipe?
- Yes. The quantities match The Cheesecake Factory's own recipe, linked on this page. The method is rewritten in our own words, and the marinade analysis is ours.
- Why is the restaurant's Asian Cucumber Salad 470 calories?
- Sesame oil. Half a cup of it, the amount in the published marinade, is about 964 calories, while a pound of cucumbers is about 68. The restaurant plate's 37 grams of fat is roughly what 3 tablespoons of sesame oil contain.
- How can I cut the sodium?
- Serve the cucumbers with a slotted spoon, and consider leaving out the 2 teaspoons of salt in the marinade. That salt alone is about 4,650 mg of sodium across the batch; the restaurant plate lists 1,850 mg.
- How thick should the cucumbers be sliced?
- Between 1/2 and 3/4 inch, cut at a slight angle. That's much thicker than most cucumber salads, and it's what keeps them crunchy.
- How long should it marinate?
- At least 30 minutes in the fridge, per the published directions, stirring now and then so every round gets coated.
- Can unseasoned rice vinegar replace seasoned?
- Not one for one. Seasoned rice vinegar already contains sugar and salt, so plain vinegar makes the salad sharper and throws the balance off.
