Chilled Cucumber Noodles
Updated July 27, 2026
Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Anna Billingskog.
- Ready In
- 40 min
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 whole English cucumber (about 1 pound), thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, smashed
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
3 teaspoons sugar
Salt
1 cup cold water
2 cups ice
½ medium sweet onion (about 4 ounces)
1 (9.5-ounce package) somen noodles (3 bunches)
2 ripe red tomatoes (about 1 pound), thinly sliced
½ cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
Olive oil, for drizzling
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
74 grams carbs; 71 milligrams cholesterol; 451 calories; 6 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 12 grams fat; 6 grams fiber; 1263 milligrams sodium; 14 grams protein; 11 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Take half of the cucumber slices, give them a rough chop and add them to the bowl of a blender, a food processor, or place in a medium mixing bowl if you are using an immersion blender. Add the garlic, white wine vinegar, sugar, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 cup cold water into the bowl with the sliced cucumbers and blend until smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer the cucumber mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the ice until melted. Set the cucumber broth in the fridge while you prepare the onion and noodles.
- Step 2
Thinly slice the onion and rinse the slices under cold water. Drain and set aside.
- Step 3
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to package directions, about 2 minutes. Drain the noodles and rinse with cold water, until the noodles are cold and feel a little bouncy in your hands. Shake as much water as you can out of the cooled noodles and divide them into four bowls. Divide the cucumber broth between the bowls and top each with sliced tomatoes, basil, onion and the remaining sliced cucumber. Give each bowl a healthy drizzle of olive oil and serve right away.
Private Notes
Comments
The cucumber broth is so good! Couldn't find somen noodles so I used vermicelli rice noodles instead. Threw some sliced jalapeno in top. Delicious and perfect for a hot day.
I might toss a dozen shrimp in with the pasta…
Very refreshing and flexible. Added tofu for protein. Subbed lemon basil for regular basil, giving a lighter, summery herb note. Topped with a smattering of freshly minced habanero chile. Next time, will try with fresh shrimp or scallops, Thai basil, Thai chiles, and sesame oil. Also, I needed only 1/2c water. Suggest adding water slowly to avoid watered down flavor as some cukes have more “juice”. I removed the seeds and sliced with a mandoline.
This is by far one of most delicious and simplest dishes that I’ve come across in recent memory. It comes together in a snap and what was most impressive was how flavorful the dish was with so few ingredients. I added shredded roasted chicken cold to the dish which I feel was a welcome addition. However I think it’s perfectly delicious without any protein too! This is definitely in my regular summer rotation!
Made this for dinner on a hot evening and what a surprise! Refreshing, cold and tasty broth with slippery noodles that were such fun to eat. Made the broth in my high speed blender and included everything, even the ice and blitzed it just a bit so that there were still little chunks of ice. Poured it over the portioned bowls of noodles and sliced veggies and topped with chili crisp. So delicious!
I made this the first time as written and it seemed a little light on flavor. The next time I increased the vinegar, added finely sliced scallion and togarashi and that extra flavor made this hit right for me. For leftovers, the broth (without the noodles) kept well to the next day, maybe even better because the cucumber and tomato was able to absorb more of the broth.