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Korean cucumber kimchi
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Recipe for Fermented Korean Cucumber Kimchi

Another tasty kimchi dish that make use of your garden harvest: cucumber. Can be served fresh immediately or for a fermented taste, wait 1-2 days. 3-4 days fermented kimchi is the best.
Course Garnish
Cuisine Korean
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 2 lbs
Author Victoria

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs cucumber any kind, minimal seed prefer
  • A handful of chive
  • 1/2 medium carrot
  • 1 cup shred turnip or daikon radish
  • 1/2 medium onion
  • 1 Tbsp sea salt
  • 1 Tbsp roasted sesame

Brine

  • 5 cups water
  • 1/3 cup salt

Kimchi sauce

  • 1 Tbsp Korean salted shrimp or 2 Tbsp anchovy fish sauce
  • 2 Tbsp anchovy fish sauce
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • A quarter size piece of ginger
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 ripe persimmon or pear
  • 1 plum
  • 2 Tbsp sweet rice flour
  • 1 cup of water

Spice - adjust this to your spice tolerant level

  • 2 Tbsp korean chili flake
  • 1 red hot chili

Instructions

Prep

  • Wash cucumber clean, then rub the sea salt all over cucumber.
  • Use a paring knife, slice the cucumber into quarter along its length while leaving about an inch at one end intact.
  • Boil the brine solution (5 cup of water to 1/3 cup table salt) then remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.
  • Pour the brine over cucumbers, apply some heavy object to keep cucumbers staying down. Soak for 30 minutes to an hour (depend on how large your cucumber is). Once done, rinse a few times then drain.
  • While cucumbers are soaking, wash and prep all other ingredients. Chop chive into 2 inches length.
  • Match cut or thick shred carrot and radish.
  • Thinly slice onion.

Making kimchi sauce

  • In a sauce pan, stir and mix 1 cup of water with 2 Tbsp of sweet rice flour until fully dissolved.
  • Place sauce pan on medium heat while stirring constantly until the mixture become somewhat thick. Remove from heat, stir in all the chili flakes/powder and let sit for a little bit.
  • Peel off skin and remove seeds from persimmon and plum. Cut the flesh into 1 inch cubes.
  • Remove garlic and ginger skin.
  • With your food processor or blender, add persimmon, plum, garlic, ginger and the rest of kimchi sauce ingredients, puree them good.

Mixing and stuffing

  • In a large mixing bowl or container, combine shred radish, carrot, onion, chive, sesame, spice and kimchi sauce above. Don't forget to add the sweet rice flour chili paste as well.
  • Put on your food gloves and mix them really good.
    Seasoning mixture
  • Stuff the seasoning mixture into each cucumber. Don't forget to dab a bit of kimchi juice all over the outer shell of each cucumber.
    Stuffed cucumber
  • Place stuffed cucumber in an airtight with lid container, pour the remaining kimchi sauce mixture(if any) all over before sealing.
  • Leave this cucumber kimchi out for 2 days or at desired time to achieve fermented taste/sourness. Then store it in fridge, last a month or more. For fresh taste (without fermented), serve 30 minutes after stuffing/mixing.