This Melon Salad with a Yuzu Dressing explodes with fresh, sweet and tangy flavors. It’s a delightful and refreshing first course or light lunch.
Inspiration
Once I fell in love with Sugar Kiss melons, I had to try the Honey Kiss and the Golden Kiss.
Both of these melons were a touch less sweet than the Sugar Kiss, but wonderful and delicious.
The Honey Kiss is so tasty in this salad!
What’s in this melon salad?
- Honey Kiss melon
- cucumber
- red onion
- salt
I chose the Honey Kiss melon for this recipe because it’s slightly crisp flesh holds the flavors of the Yuzu Dressing so well. And the heat of the jalapeño is balanced perfectly with the sweetness of the melon.
Let’s get to the dressing . . . .
What is Yuzu?
- Yuzu is a citrus fruit and plant from East Asia.
- The fruit looks like a small grapefruit with slightly uneven skin.
- They can can be either yellow or green depending on the degree of ripeness.
- Yuzu are very aromatic and have a sweet n’ sour flavor, with overtones of Mandarin orange.
What’s in the dressing?
- Yuzu juice
- mirin
- jalapeño pepper
That’s it!
When to Serve this Melon Salad
As a starter for dinner or a main course for lunch — any which way you serve it up, this melon salad be well received.
Enjoy this refreshing summer Cucumber Melon Salad and the Yuzu dressing — you can whip it up in only twenty minutes!
More recipes using yuzu or melon:

This Melon Salad with a Yuzu Dressing is exploding with fresh, sweet and tangy flavors. It's a delightful and refreshing first course or light lunch.
- 1 tablespoon jalapeño pepper, seeds removed, super finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons Yuzu juice
- 2 tablespoons Mirin
- 1 large cucumber (see instruction no. 3)
- ½ of a large Honey Kiss Melon
- about ⅓ cup red onion, thinly sliced
- sprinkling of salt
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For the dressing: Simply combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve.
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For the salad: Cut the melon in half, remove the seeds, and slice it into fairly thick wedges. Use a paring knife to remove the skin and then use a vegetable peeler to make very thin slices from each wedge. (You'll likely end up with a thicker slice that you can no longer make slices with -- just eat it!)
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Cut a sliver off one side of the cucumber to make a flat edge. From this flat edge, use the vegetable peeler to create thin slices again.
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In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the onion with the melon and cucumber slices. Pour the dressing on and toss it lightly. Add a bit of sea salt to each plate as you serve. This salad is best served chilled and within at least 15 minutes of adding the dressing.
Both Mirin and Yuzu juice can be found in Asian markets and often large grocery stores.
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amee says
How do you post so many recipes so often??? 🙂 I will have to get acquainted with Yuzu b/c I love grapefruit.
valentina says
Yuzu juice is delicious! I try to post 3X/wk – cook and photograph mostly on weekends and write late night when the kiddos are sleeping. 😉
Lana says
I tried yuzu recently for the first time, and fell in love with it. But, I love citrus:)
I am really amazed by this salad, the combination of flavors and contrasts – it has to taste good!
And just like Amee i want to know how you do it! I try to do everything on my two days off, but I have a hard time posting more often than twice a week (and usually once every 4-5 days).
Have a great weekend!
Andrea says
Can you share alternatives that are not spicy? Like the cucumber melon recipe? I am really excited to try but I have a medical condition that makes it impossible to get near spicy foods and spicy peppers etc.
valentina says
Hi Andrea, For this recipe you would simply leave out the jalapeño peppers. The Yuzu a bit tangy/sour and the Mirin balances it out with its sweetness. Enjoy! 🙂