The internet is going crazy for a simple salad that uses an entire cucumber sliced, assembled and eaten directly from a clear deli quart container
This incredibly easy and refreshing summer snack is the latest to take social media by storm -- and for good reason.
@logagm Best way to eat an entire cucumber
♬ original sound - Logan
Like so many past viral food videos on TikTok and Instagram, this dish from Logan Moffitt follows a similar recipe for success: minimal ingredients that most home cooks have on hand, which can be loosely measured or easily adjusted for any palate or dietary preference, and, importantly, little to no actual cooking.
"I didn't really have much thought behind the format," Moffitt told "Good Morning America" of the dish, which he said he's made plenty of times prior to posting his video recipe, which has amassed nearly 10 million views so far on TikTok. "I decided to just keep doing it and sharing more cucumber recipes, because I feel like cucumber goes with literally everything. Then it ended up being a pretty big food trend."
The self-taught cook told "GMA" he first learned to cook by watching YouTubers like South Korean American creator Emily Kim, commonly known as Maangchi or the Julia Child of Korean cooking, and recreating their recipes.
Moffitt's method takes a mandoline -- a workhorse kitchen tool and time-saver that chefs regularly use to achieve uniform slices of fruits and vegetables -- an entire English cucumber, followed by a blend of oils, vinegars and spices to create a cohesive bite.
His original cucumber salad video was inspired by Asian culinary culture and flavors using soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, MSG, sesame oil, grated fresh garlic, green onions and toasted sesame seeds.
Once assembled, he closes the quart container with the lid, shakes it up, and suggests either letting it marinate to really absorb the flavors or enjoying it fresh and crunchy right away.
His personal favorite out of his 50 cucumber creations (and counting) is a riff on a loaded smoked salmon everything bagel.
"The salmon, cream cheese and everything bagel one is really good," he said. "It tastes better than having a bagel, in my opinion -- it's just like pure cucumber flavor with bagel flavors, and it's so good."
@logagm How to mix cucumber of the day
♬ original sound - Logan
Moffitt also gave "GMA" a sneak preview of the flavor he's hoping to concoct next.
"I've done quite a lot at this point, but one that I have on my notes app is a an Italian sub-style," he revealed. "I think it'll be so good with different salamis and those pickled pepperoncini peppers."
Not only have Moffitt's videos been a catalyst for reaching viral status -- he's up to 4.7 million followers -- but they've inspired a new wave of home cooks to get creative and try out their own variations too.
"I saw that Alix Earl did it, and I was like, 'That's pretty crazy,'" Moffitt said of the influx of influencer attention. "Then when Wishbone Kitchen [Meredith Hayden] did it, I was excited, because I really love her videos."
Hundreds of fellow content creators have jumped on the cucumber train to test out the technique.
Moffitt's snack isn't the first iteration of cucumber salad to strike social media gold.
Previous versions like the slinky cucumber salad -- which uses cucumbers cut into a spiral shape -- vegetable peeler cucumber ribbon salad, and smashed cucumber salad have all previously had their 15 minutes of fame in years past.
