Smacked Cucumber ‘Quick Kimchi’
Updated Oct. 17, 2023
- Total Time
- 40 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1pound Persian cucumbers (about 5 to 7), cut into 1-inch pieces on the bias
- 1teaspoon kosher salt
- 2tablespoons white distilled vinegar
- ½teaspoon finely grated garlic
- 1tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1tablespoon gochugaru
- 2teaspoons fish sauce
- 1teaspoon granulated sugar
- Coarsely chopped chives, thinly sliced scallions, or cilantro or flat-leaf parsley leaves, for garnish (optional)
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Preparation
- Step 1
On a large cutting board, position your chef’s knife on its side and press the heel of the blade to crush each cucumber piece until it cracks in the center, splits in half or splinters completely into pieces. (The variety in textures is a delight.) In a medium bowl, toss the cucumbers with the salt, transfer to a colander, and let sit in the sink to drain, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in the same bowl, add the vinegar and garlic and set aside.
- Step 2
After 30 minutes, add the sesame oil, gochugaru, fish sauce and sugar to the bowl with the vinegar and garlic, and whisk to combine. Use a paper or cloth kitchen towel to pat the cucumbers dry, then add the cucumbers to the dressing and toss until well coated.
- Step 3
Garnish with the optional herbs before serving. This is best eaten right away, but can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.
Private Notes
Comments
Nope. Gochujang is a fermented red pepper paste. Gochugaru is crushed, ground red pepper flakes without the dried seeds. Substituting gochujang for gochugaru is akin to using tahini for sesame seeds. If you look closely at the photo, you'll see ground pepper flakes. Those flakes are gochugaru. I would recommend blitzing any crushed red pepper flakes to smaller flakes. Not too fine, though.
My two cents in response to the gochujang/gochugaru sub debate: they are two ingredients with very different characteristics, but it doesn’t mean making a dressing similar to this with gochujang would be bad per se, just a different recipe. I often dress cucumbers with a dressing like the one above, but with gochujang and honey, to good results. But if you can find gochujang you can probably find gochugaru, so why not get both and see for yourself?
Actually, you can make a great quick cucumber kimchi with gochujang - it's fermented already, so it adds that umami funk. Since gochujang already has a little sugar, you don't need the sugar (and you can leave out the fish sauce if you like). Absolutely do not use cayenne or another red pepper -- the flavor profile is completely different than gochugaru. Gochujang is made with gochugaru. So go ahead. If you have scallions, add them. You can eat right away or pack into a jar.
Just made thins and it is ridiculously delicious - very excited to bring it the BBQ I'm on my way too -I'm sure it will be a hit!
I prefer this without the sugar, but otherwise the recipe is easy and delicious!
My suggestion would be to eat them right away. I followed instructions to a T, had some beautiful organic Persian cucumbers. But overnight they released a lot of water, making the sauce bland and the sauce color an unappealing brown rather than red. Those beautiful cukes deserved better! So did I, dud.
Never mind, I used the wrong chile, I bought the one recommended, it was outstanding. Still better on day 1.
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