Cucumber kimchi
Oi sobagi is summer cucumber kimchi, lighter and quicker than classic cabbage kimchi. Small cucumbers are slit crosswise, salted and stuffed with a paste of chives, carrot, garlic and gochugaru, then left for half a day to ferment lightly. It is crunchy, refreshing and hot, perfect with rice and grilled meat. Unlike cabbage kimchi it does not mature for weeks — it is best in the first 3–5 days, after which the cucumbers soften. That is why it is made in small batches.
Your own work in that: 30 min.
- Cutting the cucumbers 10 min
- Salting (make the filling meanwhile) 60 min
- Draining and stuffing 30 min
- Fermenting 720 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneSlit the cucumbers
Wash the cucumbers and trim the ends. Cut into 6–7 cm lengths and slit each lengthwise in a cross, leaving 1 cm uncut at one end so the piece holds together.
Ingredients: 1000 g small pickling cucumbers · 3 tbsp non-iodised salt for brine · 1000 ml hot water
A cross slit, not cut right through.Brine the cucumbers
Dissolve the salt (3 tablespoons, about 50 g) in the hot water, lay the cucumbers in a bowl and pour over the brine. Leave 60 minutes, turning once, until soft enough to open slightly. Make the filling meanwhile.
Ingredients: 1000 g small pickling cucumbers · 3 tbsp non-iodised salt for brine · 1000 ml hot water
Prepare the vegetables
Cut the chives into 1 cm pieces, the carrot into fine matchsticks and the onion into thin slices. Crush the garlic and ginger.
Ingredients: 100 g garlic chives or ordinary chives · 1 pcs carrot · ½ pcs onion · 4 tbsp gochugaru · 5 cloves garlic · 10 g ginger · 2 tbsp fish sauce · 1 tbsp sugar
Make the paste
Mix the gochugaru with the garlic, ginger, fish sauce, sugar and 2 tablespoons of water into a thick paste. Add the vegetables and mix — wear gloves, as chilli irritates the skin. Gochugaru is sold in Asian shops and online; at a pinch use 3 tablespoons of sweet paprika and a teaspoon of hot (not smoked) paprika.
Ingredients: 100 g garlic chives or ordinary chives · 1 pcs carrot · ½ pcs onion · 4 tbsp gochugaru · 5 cloves garlic · 10 g ginger · 2 tbsp fish sauce · 1 tbsp sugar
Gloves on — gochugaru stings.Drain the cucumbers
Lift the cucumbers from the brine, rinse in cold water and drain in a sieve for 10 minutes.
Ingredients: 1000 g small pickling cucumbers · 3 tbsp non-iodised salt for brine · 1000 ml hot water
Stuff
Gently open each cucumber and push filling into the slits, filling all four gaps. Rub the rest of the filling over the outside.
Ingredients: 100 g garlic chives or ordinary chives · 1 pcs carrot · ½ pcs onion · 4 tbsp gochugaru · 5 cloves garlic · 10 g ginger · 2 tbsp fish sauce · 1 tbsp sugar
Filling into all four gaps.Pack the jar
Pack the cucumbers tightly into a clean jar of about 2 litres (or two 900 ml jars) or a lidded container. Press them down to leave as little air as possible. Swirl 3 tablespoons of water round the filling bowl to catch the last of the paste and pour it in.
Ingredients: 1000 g small pickling cucumbers · 3 tbsp non-iodised salt for brine · 1000 ml hot water
Ferment and chill
Close the jar loosely, as fermentation produces gas, and leave at room temperature (about 20–22°C) for 12 hours, then refrigerate. The kimchi can be eaten as soon as it is chilled; over the following days in the fridge it slowly turns sourer.
Ingredients: 1000 g small pickling cucumbers · 3 tbsp non-iodised salt for brine · 1000 ml hot water
Before you start
Vegan version
Replace the fish sauce with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and a teaspoon of miso. The fermentation works just the same.
Crunch
Choose small, firm pickling cucumbers with few seeds — large greenhouse cucumbers are too watery and soften fast. Use additive-free, non-iodised salt (rock or sea) — it tastes cleaner and does not cloud the liquid.
Storage
Keep cucumber kimchi in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, though it tastes best in the first 3–5 days. Use clean tongs and press the rest down. Throw it away if mould, slime or a rotten smell appears.