Cucumber Kimchi
Cookbook
Eating Korean: From Barbecue to Kimchi, Recipes from My Home
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Very popular in our household, it was also chosen as a Top Ten Recipe of the Year in 1999 by the Los Angeles Times food staff. It’s a wonderful kimchi to serve to guests. Slightly sweet and spicy, this kimchi ferments very quickly so refrigerate soon, especially in hot weather. When choosing cucumbers, look for those that are firm with darker green skin. You will need three 1-quart jars or one 1-gallon jar.
Makes3 quarts
Cooking Methodpickling
CostInexpensive
Total Timea day or more
Make Ahead RecipeYes
Kid FriendlyYes
One Pot MealYes
Recipe Courseside dish
Dietary Considerationegg-free, low calorie, low carb, low cholesterol, low saturated fat, low-fat, peanut free, soy free, vegan, vegetarian
Equipmentblender, food processor
Five Ingredients or LessYes
Mealdinner
Taste and Texturecrisp, spiced, sweet
Type of DishCondiments, vegetable
Ingredients
- Water
- ? cup plus 1 tablespoon salt
- 20 Asian pickling cucumbers
- 1 bulb garlic, cloves separated and peeled
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 bunch of green onions, sliced into ?-inch lengths
- 1 bunch of Korean chives (buchu), cut into ?-inch pieces
- ? cup chili powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar plus 1 teaspoon, optional
Instructions
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Mix ? gallon water with ? cup salt, stirring for salt to dissolve. Soak cucumbers in salt water about 30 minutes. (Be careful not to soak too long.) Remove cucumbers and rinse.
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Cut about ? inch from each end of cucumbers. Cut cucumbers in half in middle, not lengthwise. Hold cucumber facing circular middle. Cut in half lengthwise, leaving about ? inch at end uncut. Cut in half lengthwise again, perpendicular to your first cut, leaving the end uncut. You should have 4 semiequal parts of cucumber, cut but still attached. Repeat with remaining cucumbers.
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Place garlic in a food processor or blender and mince. Combine onion, green onions, buchu, garlic, chili powder, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon optional sugar in large bowl. (If mixing with your hands, be sure to wear gloves to avoid chili burn.)
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Set three 1-quart jars on work surface. Using your fingers, separate cucumber quarters and stuff mixture into cucumbers. Divide evenly among jars, pressing cucumbers down firmly into jars. Stir 1 teaspoon sugar into 1/3 cup water until sugar is completely dissolved. Pour sugar water over cucumbers.
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Let sit 1 day before serving. Refrigerate after opening.
2005 Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee
