Crunchy Peanutty Noodle Salad

Making Cucumber Ribbons

Cucumber ribbons sound fancy, but they’re actually super easy to make—and they instantly give your salad a high-end restaurant vibe.

Start with an English or Persian cucumber—these work best because they’re thin-skinned and nearly seedless. No peeling necessary!

Now grab a sharp vegetable peeler, even though I told you no peeling was required. 

And speaking from experience here, the best peelers have German blades—they’re razor-sharp and make the job effortless. Wunderbar!

Hold the cucumber steady on a cutting board, then run the peeler down its length from top to bottom, creating long, thin ribbons. 

Rotate the cucumber slightly after every few peels to keep things even. Keep going until you hit the seedy core—then stop, because those middle pieces tend to fall apart faster than a crunchy taco.

Want even fancier ribbons? A mandoline slicer on its thinnest setting works, too—but watch your fingers! Cucumber ribbons are fun! A trip to the ER is not.

Once you’ve got a lovely pile of ribbons, gently separate them and toss them into your salad. 

They’re cute and curly, adding crunch without bulk—plus you can twirl them along with the noodles. 

And that’s why cucumbers are “cool.”