Fresh Cucumber & Veggie Kimchi

A side dish of Cucumber Kimchi was served at Seoul USA Korean restaurant we dined at last night (the only one in Salina, KS.). Today I was on the internet looking for recipes.

My first experience was Kimchi was years ago at an Asian restaurant. It smelled funny and I think I recall someone saying it had been buried underground to ferment. Despite all that, I took a taste and remember it was very sour. Since then the word kimchi, at least up until last night, brought distasteful thoughts to mind.

Perhaps it helped that the kimchi I had last night was freshly made. Perhaps it’s the healthy workshop on gut health where Dr. Will Buisiewicz talked about the benefits aspects of kimchi. Perhaps it’s that I really like Dr. B’s fermented sauerkraut that can be made by the quart; probably a combination of all three. https://theguthealthmd.com

The first recipe I saw called for fish sauce —to create an immediate sour taste. I passed that one by rather quickly. Then I found a son-mom video where Mom was demonstrating her version of Cucumber Kimchi that included lots of other veggies. Her recipe is essentially the one I followed. She used cider vinegar but I’ll also experiment with rice wine vinegar. It’s one of those recipe where you can add more or less of the ingredients or even throw in other veggies as well. However, one thing I definitely changed was the amount of chili powder—she actually used 2 tablespoons of cayenne! While I like hot and spicy, Barry can only handle a minimum of spicy heat. Instead of the cayenne or Korean chile powder, I used Gochujang paste (an ingredient I had in the fridge for making Korean pulled pork). 

About Fresh Kimchi — While slowly fermented cabbage and pungent garlic are the ingredients most people associate with kimchi, there are dozens and dozens of other versions of Korea’s national dish, featuring all manner of vegetables.

Fresh Cucumber & Veggie Kimchi

2 smaller sized cucumbers, Cut cucumbers in half lengthwise and then crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick half moons 

3 green onions (scallions), sliced at an angle into about 1/4 to 1/2” pieces

1 carrot, cut into matchstick-sized pieces

1/2 red pepper, cut into matchstick-sized pieces

1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 1/4” piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

2 tablespoons apple cider or rice vinegar

1/2+ tablespoon Gochujang paste or 1 to 2 tablespoons cayenne or  Korean chile powder (gochugaru, gochugalu or Korean “crushed red pepper”) 

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1. Place all ingredients in a glass or nonreactive bowl (avoid aluminum as acidic foods, such as vinegar, can reaction with it). Taste and adjust spices and ingredient accordingly. 
2. Eat immediately or cover and refrigerate. Liquid will develop as kimchi is allowed to set so drain before serving. Freshly made, it is crisp and crunchy; some of the crunch is gone after it sets several hours but it is still tasty.