spinner
Food & Wine

Tell Us What You Think

Quick Kimchi Cucumbers

Average Rating

 From 2 ratings.

User Reviews

rating kzhwang
Korean husband  and Phillipino friend (who wishes he were Korean) love this.  I sometimes use preshredded carrots and bottled minced ginger to ease prep.  Using fresh ginger makes this amazing though.  I usually use red onion to make this 'mine'.  We love this so much that I usually make a triple batch!
rating conciergegirl
Great recipe served it with bugolgi boyfriend said one of the best things he has ever eaten

recipe tools

Printer-Friendly Page Printer-Friendly Page
RSS RSS
AddThis
Email to a Friend

Quick Kimchi Cucumbers

  • fast FAST
  • healthy HEALTHY
ACTIVE TIME: 25 MIN
TOTAL TIME: 45 MIN
MAKES 1 POUND
Koreans eat kimchi—a garlicky, chile-laden pickle—at almost every meal. Traditionally, kimchi needs days, even weeks, to ferment, but Chang's kimchi is ready in 45 minutes. A highly addictive hot dog condiment, it's best served right away, when the cucumbers are still juicy.
ingredients
  • 1 pound Kirby cucumbers, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch spears
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Korean red chile flakes or 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons thinly sliced strips of peeled fresh ginger
  • 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried shrimp (optional), minced
  • 1 small carrot and 1 scallion, thinly sliced into 2-inch matchsticks
  • 1/4 small onion, thinly sliced
directions
  1. In a colander, toss the cucumbers with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/2 tablespoon of the sugar and let stand for 10 minutes.
  2. In a bowl, mix the remaining 1 1/4 teaspoons of salt and 2 tablespoons of sugar with the chile flakes, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce and dried shrimp. Toss in the carrot, scallion, onion and cucumbers. Arrange the cucumbers in a shallow dish, spooning the shredded vegetables and liquid on top. Let stand for 15 minutes, turning once or twice, then serve.
Recipe by David Chang
From Easy Homemade Condiments
This recipe originally appeared in June, 2007.