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Preparation
15 minutes
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Cooking
30 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Crunchy, sweet and sour kimchi served with grilled dishes and mixed dishes is incredibly appealing. It is also one of the dishes that helps to refresh the family meal. Let’s get cooking and make the perfectly flavored cucumber kimchi that is very simple to prepare!
Ingredients for Cucumber Kimchi Serves 4 people
Cucumber 900 gr Carrot 1 piece (about 85gr) Onion 1/2 piece (about 60gr) Spring onion 8 stalks (or chives) Korean chili powder 7 tablespoons Garlic 1 bulb Ginger 1 bulb White sesame 1 tablespoon (sesame) Sugar 1.5 tablespoons Fish sauce 2.5 tablespoons Baking soda 1 tablespoon Salt 3.5 tablespoons
How to choose fresh and delicious cucumbers:
- Choose cucumbers that are bright green in color, fairly uniform in color, without dark spots or yellowing, as these are signs that the cucumbers have been stored for too long and are starting to spoil.
- Cucumbers should be straight, not or slightly curved. Cucumbers that are long and uniformly sized are the type that has a crunchy texture, which is tastier than short and round cucumbers.
- It is advisable to choose heavier cucumbers with smooth skin, without blemishes, and smaller cucumbers are sweeter than larger ones.
- Avoid buying cucumbers that are bulging, large in the middle or have a big head and a small tail (and vice versa) as these are old cucumbers, with many seeds, tough, and not tasty.
- If you accidentally buy a bitter cucumber, you can peel it to remove the bitter taste.
Korean chili powder
- Korean chili powder has a mild spiciness, sweeter than Vietnamese chili, which is more pungent. Additionally, Korean chili powder contains garlic and ground pepper, creating a distinctive flavor.
- You can use Korean chili powder for Korean soups, marinating grilled meats, making kimchi,… This seasoning is also used as a main marinade in dishes in South Korea.
- You can easily find Korean chili powder at markets, supermarkets, grocery stores,… with prices ranging from about 60,000 VND – 150,000 VND/kg depending on the type (price updated on April 3, 2021).
- Moreover, you can also easily make Korean chili powder with the recipe shared by TasteVN below.
How to Prepare Cucumber Kimchi
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Prepare the cucumber
After buying the cucumber, to clean it, soak it for 10 minutes in 1 teaspoon of baking soda mixed with water. Then remove it and let it drain. Cut off both ends and divide it into 4 sections, cutting lengthwise down to about 2 finger lengths from the tail (do not cut all the way through).
Boil 1.2 liters of water with 3.5 tablespoons of salt, then add the cucumber to soak and press down to ensure the brine covers the cucumber. Soak for about 30 minutes for it to absorb, then take it out and fan it to dry.
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Prepare other ingredients
Peel the carrot, wash it clean, and cut it into long strips about the width of one finger. Remove the roots from the green onions, wash them clean, and cut them into pieces about one finger long.
Peel the onion, wash it clean, and slice it thinly. Peel the garlic, wash it clean, crush it, and chop it finely.
Peel the ginger, crush it, and chop it finely.
For the white sesame seeds, put them in a pan and roast them over low heat for about 5 minutes until they turn golden and become fragrant, then turn off the heat.
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Mix cucumber kimchi
Add to a bowl the chopped carrot and green onion, thinly sliced onion along with minced ginger and garlic, 2.5 tablespoons of fish sauce, 1.5 tablespoons of sugar, 7 tablespoons of Korean chili powder, toasted sesame seeds, and 80ml of water (about 4 – 5 tablespoons). Mix well and gently squeeze the ingredients with your hands to absorb the seasoning.
Let it marinate for about 30 minutes to eat immediately or place in a container at room temperature for about 1 – 2 days to ferment for a light sour taste, then you can store it in the refrigerator refrigerator.
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Final product
The cucumber kimchi dish is crunchy and delicious, with a sour, salty, and slightly sweet taste that is very appealing.
You can enjoy it with hot rice and grilled meat for a more rounded flavor. This super simple dish will surely make you exclaim and clear your palate for a delicious family meal!
How to store cucumber kimchi
- Cucumber kimchi can be stored in a sealed container at room temperature for about 1 – 2 days to ferment, then place it in the refrigerator and it can be used gradually for about 1 week.
- When taking kimchi, you should use clean, dry chopsticks to avoid spoiling the kimchi.
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Wishing you success in making cucumber kimchi to treat your family. Please share your finished product right below in the comments for TasteVN to know!
*Source reference for the recipe and images shared from Facebook: Ari Huyền Daisy.
