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Cucumber kimchi

Cucumber Kimchi sliced in half with kimchi sprinkled on top, served in a deep speckled blue and grey bowl

Cucumber kimchi

Name: Cucumber kimchi
Total time: 10 min
Yield: Makes 500g
Ingredients: 500g mini cucumbers halved lengthways; 2 tsp flaky sea salt; 1 tsp caster sugar; ½ apple grated; 3 cloves garlic sliced; a thumb-sized piece ginger shredded; 2 tbsp gochugaru (see notes below); 1 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tbsp soy sauce; 3 spring onions shredded

Adam Bush

Published: June 5, 2018 at 4:01 PM

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Makes 500g

Easy

Total time: 10 mins

+ salting + overnight fermenting

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Do you love kimchi? Check out this quick and easy recipe for a mini cucumber version. Packed with punchy peppery gochugaru and fiery ginger these fermented cucumbers are ideal for a summer bbq

Vegetarian

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Alternatives

Complete the dish

Try our cucumber kimchi recipe and read about how fermenting improves your gut health, then check out more recipes for a healthy gut. Want to make a classic version? Follow our easy recipe for homemade kimchi and kimchi jeon (spicy kimchi pancakes).

Kimchi and fermenting

While pickling and fermenting was historically done out of necessity – to preserve, to aid digestion now chefs and cooks have realised its potential as a serious flavour enhancer and are getting increasingly creative. From cool kombuchas and punchy pickles to crunchy ’krauts, there’s a whole world of gut-friendly foods and drinks to try.

Kimchi, a staple in Korean kitchens, is essentially spicy lacto-fermented cabbage at its most traditional – with chopped, salted chinese cabbage, pepped up with garlic, ginger and gochugaru (Korean ground red pepper). Packed with probiotic bacteria and great for gut health (which essentially means good for your digestion) – it also tastes delicious as a side dish or condiment, but also as a central part of a meal – think stews through to stir-fries.

But there are plenty of ways to get that signature tang and crunch – and we’ve been experimenting in the olive test kitchen, inspired by new-wave fermenters. So here’s our cucumber version – it’s a good entry-level kimchi, if you’ve not tried it before, as it’s not too funky and is ready in less than 24 hours.

Cucumber kimchi recipe

Ingredients

Nutrition

500g mini cucumbers

halved lengthways
2 tsp flaky sea salt
1 tsp caster sugar
½ apple

grated
3 cloves garlic

sliced
a thumb-sized piece ginger

shredded
2 tbsp gochugaru

(see notes below)
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
3 spring onions

shredded

Nutrition: per serving

kcal12
fat0.3g
carbs1.3g
sugars1.2g
fibre0.6g
protein0.6g
salt0.6g

Method

step 1

Put the cucumber pieces into a bowl and sprinkle over the salt. Toss and leave for 20 minutes to draw out the moisture, then drain.
step 2

Put the sugar, apple, garlic, ginger, gochugaru, fish sauce and soy sauce into a bowl and mix well. Add in the drained cucumbers and spring onions, and toss really well. Spoon into a shallow dish and leave covered at room temperature for 12 hours or overnight, stirring every now and again. It’s then ready to serve or will keep covered in the fridge for a week, with the cucumbers becoming softer and funkier with time.

Gochugaru is a Korean ground red pepper and is available from specialist grocers and online.

Make your own pickles with our easy guide to fermenting...

Authors

Adam Bush Chef Portrait

Adam BushDeputy food editor

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