Cutting Cucumber for Sushi

Cucumbers are one of the most popular and widely used vegetables when it comes to sushi. Whether it's in a roll, added to a piece of gunkanmaki, or just used for garnish, it can add a refreshing flavor and some nice crunchy texture. In this post I'll go over the two most important factors; one, how to choose the right cucumber and two, how to cut it. Oh yeah, and the best way to utilize the scraps.. a cucumber saketini (or at least a link to that post). You're very welcome.

WHAT TYPE OF CUCUMBER TO USE?

This is an important question since there are nearly a 100 different types of cucumbers out there. But to make things easy, most stores will only carry a few (at least here in the States).

And to simplify it even more, I'll just tell you which ones you want to stick with. English or Japanese cucumbers work best for sushi. Persian cucumbers and also those mini cucumbers that I sometimes see (not sure the technical name for them) can also work. Stay away from the regular slicing cucumbers though, which tend to be shorter, fatter, and thick-skinned. These have a lot of seeds in the middle and tend to be more bitter.

Now before you start asking me about this cucumber or that cucumber, I am no cucumber connoisseur (I know, surprise right?). So I'm sure there are a bunch of other varieties that will be fine, I just don't see them enough. The best way to find out is just try it. Everyone has different taste and preferences so you won't really know until you try it yourself.

Regardless of what type, when picking out the cucumber try to find one that is nice and straight which will make it much easier to cut.

CUTTING

Cutting cucumber for sushi is actually quite easy, well depending on the method, which there's a ton of. And if you're already used to a certain way and it works well for you then stick with it. But then again, why would you be here reading this?

In the video below I go over two methods. The first is a very basic and beginner friendly and what I suggest you should start with (assuming you're new to this). The second involves what we call "katsuramuki" and is a traditional technique used to cut certain vegetables into ultra thin strips, almost string-like. Daikon radish is typically used for this and you probably have seen it on the side of any sashimi dish (called "daikon-no-tsuma" or just "tsuma" for short).

Now, the "katsuramuki" part is the technique of shaving/peeling the outer layer into that super thin sheet. How we cut it into strips/strands afterwards can differ depending on the vegetable we're cutting. I'm not going to get into too much detail here but just know that if you're working with daikon, that it won't be exactly the same way as I show it here. That'll be in a future post to follow.

If you're planning on practicing katsuramuki though, I recommend starting with a cucumber rather than a much harder daikon. Once you get a good feel and your cucumber sheet doesn't look like shredded cardboard then move on and practice with daikon.

Once you learn how to cut cucumber like this, you'll be able to use it for many different sushi types: makimono (rolls), temaki (hand rolls), even nigiri if you want. So stick to it and just like anything, practice makes perfect.

As always, if you have any questions or comments leave them on the YouTube video or here and I'll try to get to it as soon as I can. Thanks and see you on the next one!