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    Home » Recipes by Category

    Published: Feb 5, 2019 · Modified: Mar 27, 2021 by Nart · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Ajaad – Thai Cucumber Relish to Go with Satay and More

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    thai sweet and sour cucumber relish in a dipping bowl

    If you’re a real fan of Thai-style satay, then you know that no satay is complete with just a peanut sauce. Satay *MUST* be had with the ajaad or Thai cucumber relish. I’ve seen Thai restaurants outside of Thailand serve satay without it. This does nothing but make me scream inside. Although it’s true that, when done right, the satay meat and peanut sauce are already good. But if you want to have satay the Thai way and enjoy it even more, you need the good old ajaad. Eating satay without this cucumber relish for us Thais is like going to work without wearing shoes!

    That said, satay isn’t the only one thing we eat with ajaad. In Thailand you can also see this sweet and sour condiment accompanying  Thai pork toast,  Thai fish cakes, and Thai yellow curry. If you love these dishes and ever decide to make them yourself, don’t forget to make ajaad to enhance the flavors of them!

    A Bit About The Chilies

    We usually use the kind that isn’t super hot to make ajaad and, as far as colors go, you can use red, green, yellow or all of them to make your ajaad pretty. As much as we love heat in our food, we add chilies to the ajaad only to give it a mild kick. So when you’re out shopping for some chilies for you ajaad, remember it’s not supposed to be super hot. Unless you want it to be, of course. 🙂

    Try my  Thai pork toast with this ajaad recipe!

    📖 Recipe

    thai sweet and sour cucumber relish in a dipping bowl

    Ajaad - Thai Cucumber Relish to Go with Satay Recipe

    A Thai condiment to go with satay, Thai pork toast, Thai fish cakes, Thai yellow curry, and more.
    5 from 17 votes
    Print Rate
    Cuisine: Thai
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Servings: 1 large bowl
    Author: Nart

    Ingredients

    • 6 shallots sliced
    • 1 cup cucumber cut in half and sliced
    • sliced chilies any kind and as many as you prefer
    • 1 ½ cups water
    • ¾ cup granulated sugar
    • 6 tablespoons vinegar

    Instructions

    • Over medium-low heat, dissolve the sugar in the water and add vinegar.
    • Stir until thickened up and remove from heat to let cool.
    • Put the vegetables and a bowl and pour the cooled vinegar mixture over the vegetables when the toast is ready to be served.

    Notes

    This recipe was used to go with my 32-piece Thai pork toast recipe. If you need less ajaad, just make sure you keep the ratio the same.
    Tried this recipe?Mention @cookingwithnart or tag #cookingwithnart!
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      Recipe Rating




    1. Henryk Tyszka says

      May 22, 2023 at 5:22 am

      5 stars
      We loved this salad, although Honey would have liked the cucumber slices thinner. Followed the recipe to the letter. Very good.

      Not to find fault, but who can peel and slice six shallots in ten minutes? Surely not me. Very good accompaniment to Easy Thai Satay Chicken.

      Reply
      • Nart says

        May 25, 2023 at 9:06 am

        Lol, thank you!

        Reply
    2. Mark says

      December 11, 2021 at 6:43 am

      5 stars
      I love this relish and oddly I’m not a huge fan of cucumbers. My favorite Thai restaurant in Phoenix always served it with their satay and now I find myself craving it.

      I like mildly spicy, what chilies would you recommend?

      I think this relish would go perfect with roasted duck, which is on the menu for Christmas.

      Reply
      • Nart says

        January 20, 2022 at 8:16 am

        Hi Mark!

        I’m so sorry I just saw this. But I recommend using “prik chi fah” – you should be able to find it in a Thai grocery store.

        Hope this helps!

        Reply
    3. Lathiya says

      October 27, 2020 at 3:59 am

      5 stars
      This cucumber relish looks so easy and delish. Like to try this soon.

      Reply
    4. Ai says

      October 16, 2020 at 7:37 pm

      5 stars
      Mmm this looks so fresh and refreshing!

      Reply
    5. Jacqueline Debono says

      October 16, 2020 at 1:26 pm

      5 stars
      I love satay and really enjoyed eating it in Thailand with peanut sauce and ajaad! Sadly, where I live here in Italy there are no Thai restaurants and some spices are hard to find. But I like making some dishes myself and your pork toast and this ajaad is now on my to make list!

      Reply
      • Nart says

        December 03, 2020 at 10:49 am

        Aww, thank you! I’m glad you like the pork toast!

        Reply
    6. LaRena Fry says

      October 16, 2020 at 11:40 am

      5 stars
      This sounds like a wonderful side salad full of flavor. I like that you can select the amount of heat in the recipe.

      Reply
    7. angela says

      October 14, 2020 at 9:09 pm

      5 stars
      I love this and could eat it plain it is so addicting.

      Reply
    8. Relle says

      October 14, 2020 at 4:12 pm

      Ooh this sounds great. I would love to try it. Maybe as a salad?

      Reply
      • Nart says

        December 03, 2020 at 10:43 am

        Hmmm…probably best as an accompaniment to some meat, hehe.

        Reply
    9. Nisha says

      October 13, 2020 at 9:53 pm

      5 stars
      Ah! I am pretty sure this relish would make the satay taste even better . I have not seen it in the restaurants here .It’s great to have the recipe .Thank you for the share Nart!

      Reply
      • Nart says

        December 03, 2020 at 10:45 am

        You’re very welcome! And yeah, I suppose most Thai restaurants outside of Thailand usually serve satay with just the peanut sauce.

        Reply
        • Clifton Peirce says

          December 24, 2021 at 11:58 pm

          not true a Thai restaurant in Phoenix, AZ always served it with both peanut and
          .

        • Nart says

          January 05, 2022 at 8:54 am

          Hi Clifton. Thanks for your comment even though you didn’t finish it. A Thai restaurant in Phoenix, AZ…yes, of course 🙂

          If you’re talking about satay, where in the post did I say it should be served with just this relish?

          xxx

    10. Charla says

      May 04, 2020 at 6:23 pm

      5 stars
      This looks so good Nart, I would love to try this with fish cakes as suggested.

      Reply
      • Nart says

        June 01, 2020 at 8:39 am

        Thanks so much, Charla! Please do give it a try and let me know how it went 🙂

        Reply
    11. Danielle Wolter says

      May 04, 2020 at 5:51 pm

      5 stars
      Love this! They came out perfect and go great with Thai and Vietnamese dishes 🙂

      Reply
      • Nart says

        June 01, 2020 at 9:15 am

        Thank you!

        Reply
    12. Sandhya's Kitchen says

      May 04, 2020 at 4:57 pm

      5 stars
      Thai Cucumber relish looks like a breeze. We would love to enjoy them as a salad for curries.

      Reply
      • Nart says

        June 01, 2020 at 9:16 am

        Ooh, it would be perfect for that!

        Reply
    13. Caroline says

      May 04, 2020 at 2:39 pm

      5 stars
      Simple relishes are great for balancing out the flavors of dishes and this is no different – a little sharp, a little sweet and crunchy. Looks yummy.

      Reply
      • Nart says

        June 01, 2020 at 9:24 am

        Thank you!

        Reply
        • Micky says

          March 27, 2021 at 12:39 am

          What vinegar should I use?

        • Nart says

          March 27, 2021 at 7:52 am

          You can use rice vinegar like the one here.

    14. Toni says

      May 04, 2020 at 12:27 pm

      5 stars
      I absolutely love this recipe. I never thought when I’ve had this in restaurants that you could make it at home!

      Reply
      • Nart says

        June 01, 2020 at 9:33 am

        I’m so glad you like it! It’s so easy to make, right?

        Reply

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