Looking for a simple, healthy way to surprise your family this summer? This cucumber kimchi recipe is a winner! Fresh, crunchy, and full of flavour, it will please young and old alike, adding an original and healthy touch to your meals.
What Is Cucumber Kimchi?
Kimchi is a culinary treasure straight from Korea, traditionally made from Napa cabbage, daikon radish, and spices (chilies, garlic, ginger, etc.). It’s a natural fermentation packed with probiotics to aid digestion and a unique, contrasting taste. Once you’ve tried it, kimchi quickly becomes an ally in the kitchen!
Kimchi comes in a thousand and one variations, depending on the season and the vegetables available. For example, there’s green cabbage kimchi, daikon kimchi, vegan kimchi, bok choy kimchi, rhubarb kimchi, and many more…
Here, we offer you a variation of the kimchi pickle, using cucumber, a vegetable that’s easy to find, affordable, and loved by the entire family. In Korean, this kimchi is called Oi-Sobaggi.
👉 Curious to find out more? Discover What Is Kimchi and Why Eat It?
What Supplies Are Needed to Make Cucumber Kimchi?
Cucumber kimchi doesn’t require any special equipment, apart from suitable fermentation jars or containers.
There are two types of cucumber kimchi:
- Traditional, in which the cucumbers are cut into 5 cm / 2 inch sections and then sliced crosswise lengthways, but not all the way through, so that they can be stuffed with the condiment sauce.
- The kkakdugi version, i.e. cut into cubes of around 2 cm / 0.7 inch square, before coating them with the condiment sauce. For simplicity, you can opt for medium-sized slices using a mandoline.
A Crazy Corean Cooking fermenting container (traditional cut) or a Le Parfait jar (kkakdugi cut or slices) will be the most suitable, depending on the method you choose
Utensils required:
- A knife and chopping board to prepare the vegetables
- A large salad bowl for soaking the cucumbers in the hot brine
- A saucepan to boil the water and coarse salt
- A small salad bowl for making the condiment sauce for the kimchi
- A small fine grater or knife for the garlic and ginger
- A large traditional grater for the carrots
Which Ingredients Are Needed to Make Cucumber Kimchi?
The main ingredient is, of course, cucumber. We recommend that you use Lebanese cucumbers that are not too large and are quite firm. They’ll be key to a long-lasting crunchy kimchi.
For the other ingredients:
- Korean chili flakes (Gochugaru): one of the pillars of kimchi preparation to give it its spicy edge.
- Fish sauce: Koreans traditionally love fish sauce in kimchi. It imparts an unrivaled depth. If you want to make a vegan kimchi, it is perfectly fine to replace it with a good soy sauce or a fermented vegetable or mushroom sauce.
- Sugar: This will provide the food needed by the fermenting bacteria. You can also use fruit juice (apples, plums…) or a raw syrup of your choice to amplify the aromatic depth of your kimchi.
- Garlic and ginger: an essential aromatic base in kimchi!
- Carrot: Coarsely grated, it will add body and texture to the sauce, especially to help garnish the cucumbers if you opt for the traditional cut.
- Salt: a major player in fermentation. Opt for natural, unrefined, and untreated salt.
Optional: You can add extra spices and condiments of your choice to personalize your kimchi (fermented shrimp paste, umeboshi vinegar, onions, sesame seeds as a topping when tasting…).
Cucumber Kimchi Recipe
Equipment
- 3 Le Parfait 500 ml jars (if sliced or cubed), or
- 1 Crazy Korean Cooking 1.7 L fermentation container (if traditional cut)
- 1 Knife
- 1 Chopping board
- 1 large salad bowl
- 1 bowl for mixing the sauce
- 1 large colander
- 1 Saucepan
Ingredients
- 3.3 lbs Lebanese cucumbers
- 6 cups water
- ¼ cup coarse salt
For the sauce:
- ¼ cup gochugaru chili flakes
- 1 tbsp. fine salt
- 4 tbsp. fish sauce or soy sauce
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- 2 tbsp. chopped or finely grated garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp. chopped or finely grated ginger
- 2 cups grated medium carrot
Steps
Preparing the Cucumbers
- Cut the cucumbers into 2 cm (0.7 inch) cubes. If you choose the traditional cut, cut them into 5 cm (2 inches) sections, then slice them crosswise lengthways, without cutting all the way through.
- Bring the water and coarse salt to the boil in a saucepan.
- Place the cucumbers in the salad bowl and pour the boiling salted water over them.
- Put a plate on top to keep the cucumbers submerged. Set aside for 30 minutes.
Preparing the Sauce
- In the small bowl, mix all the ingredients for the sauce until smooth. If it seems a little dry, don't worry, the cucumbers will release plenty of water.
Putting Into Jars and Fermentation
- Drain the cucumbers through the sieve and rinse with cold water. Repeat the operation. Dry them well.
- In the large salad bowl, toss the cucumbers with the sauce to coat well. If they are in the traditional cut, fill the cucumbers with the stuffing (sauce).
- Arrange the cucumbers, packing well, in your fermentation container.
- Allow to ferment for 2 to 3 days at room temperature and refrigerate once done.
Notes
How Should You Serve Your Cucumber Kimchi?
- As pickles, this kimchi-style pickle is crunchy as an aperitif, perfect for snacking.
- To accompany a bowl of white rice for a simple, gourmet meal.
- On skewers, grilled, served with a yogurt sauce, a treat for your summer barbecues!
- As a garnish in your burgers or salads, for an original, tangy touch.
- In a sandwich, spread with Philadelphia cream cheese and yogurt.
Get the Tools!
We suggest the following products for making this cucumber kimchi recipe.
Le Parfait Super Glass Jars (Pack of 6)
$59.85 - $62.95
Gochugaru Korean Chili Flakes (500g)
$16.90 $19.00
Is it spicy? Or crunchy? I don’t like them when they are, and I hate when it’s soggy.
Hi Hugh,
This kimchi is both spicy and crunchy ;) shouldn’t be soggy at all, especially if you keep the fermentation to a few days only.