Making cucumber kimchi at home could be intimidating for many people. Don’t worry! I’ve got you covered with a step-by-step cooking tutorial!
Cucumber Kimchi Recipe
Serving: 6
Prep time: 30 minutes
Rest time: 20 minutes
Ferment time: 2 hours and more
For the cucumber kimchi
3 English cucumbers
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
1/2 cup garlic chives, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 medium carrot, julienned
For the kimchi sauce:
1 tablespoon Korean salted shrimp (saeujeot) (or replace it with fish sauce)
3 garlic cloves, grated
½ teaspoon ginger, grated
3 tablespoons Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon Korean plum extract (maeshil cheong) (or replace it with sugar)
Cucumber Kimchi Instructions
To prepare the cucumbers:
- First, cut off the ends of each cucumber. Then, quarter it and slice it into about 2 inches long. Do the same with the rest. Transfer them to a mixing bowl.
- Sprinkle the coarse sea salt over the cucumbers. Mix well. Rest for 20 minutes. Discard the liquid.
To prepare the kimchi sauce:
- In a bowl, mix together the Korean salted shrimp, garlic, ginger, Korean chili flakes, fish sauce, and Korean plum extract.
To toss them together:
- Top the kimchi sauce over the cucumbers and toss everything together.
- Then add the garlic chives and carrot. Mix well.
To ferment the cucumbers and serve:
- Place the cucumber kimchi in an airtight container.
- Ferment the cucumber kimchi at room temperature for 2 hours. Then continue to ferment and store in the fridge for up to 7 days. (The longer it gets, the sourer it becomes. I usually like to eat them on the second day.)
