If you like spicy pickles, this is for you. Cucumber Kimchi salad – spicy, crunchy and pickled, a great vegetarian version.
Looking for a salad or side dish but tired of leafy green options? Want to try something different,? Well this one is for you. A pickle with a kick of spice that you can adjust to your taste. It works perfectly as a pickle side dish to complement any meal. Because it is pickled, it can be stored for over a week in the refrigerator and it still maintains the crunch of the cucumber.
Kimchi is a Korean pickle used as a side dish and served commonly with grilled meats and rice. It can be made of any vegetables, cabbage, radish, cucumber are the most common. It is typically made to preserve vegetables for winter months. It is a flavorful spicy pickle that is easy to make.
In this version, you can enjoy it instantly and throughout the week as it stays well and develops flavor as it marinates. It is amazing how the cucumbers maintain crunch even after a few days. It is very simple to make, just chop and mix together the ingredients! No cooking involved, its easy.
Lets give it a try!
Time: 10 minutes
Level of difficulty: Easy
Servings: 4 side salads portions
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of sliced Cucumbers, keep the skin on (English or Persian work best as they have very few small seeds). If you cannot find these then regular cucumbers can be used, but remove the seeds in the middle. You can cut them in any shape you like, circles, half moons, quarter chunks….as you like.
- 1/4 cup sliced white onion
- 1 green onion stalk sliced (or green garlic chives if you can find them).You can slice them small or cut into large 2″ pieces
- 2 fresh garlic cloves diced small
- 1/4 cup grated carrots
- 1/2 cup pealed, halfed, sliced white radish (Korean radish works great for this)
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 2 tsp Korean dry Hot Pepper Powder called Gochugaru. Easily available in Asian grocery stores. If you cannot find it then use any dry red chili powder to your taste. Avoid using chili paste or chili sauce, it is not a good substitute for this dish.
- 2 tsp Sesame Oil
- 2 tsp Sesame seeds
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Vinegar
Method:
- Wash and dry your veggies, chop them.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well till each vegetable is coated on all sides.
- Let it sit for 30 mins on the counter in an airtight container.
- Enjoy and save the rest in the fridge for the rest of the week.
Tips:
- If you like include 1 tbsp Fish sauce for added flavor. It is absolutely ok to leave it off to keep it vegetarian.
- The proportions of the vegetables are very flexible add more or less based on what you have available.
- Bean sprouts are a great addition to this as well for another variation.
- Taste it and add more red chili depending on how hot you like it!
- See more options in the Salad section