This spicy Korean cucumber salad is tangy, candy, salty, and crunchy! An straightforward recipe made with pickled cocktail cucumbers and Korean pink pepper flakes for some spice!
This is a straightforward recipe for spicy Korean cucumber salad that is made with fast pickled cucumbers and dressed with a tangy, candy, and spicy sauce!
In Korea, that is served as a aspect dish (banchan) and is known as ‘Oi Muchim’, which interprets to seasoned cucumbers.
Inspiration for this recipe
This cucumber aspect dish is often seen in Korean eating places, particularly Korean BBQ eating places.
The flavors are brilliant, crisp, and tangy which pair splendidly with the wealthy, fatty cuts of meat you see in Korean BBQ.
I wished to recreate the flavors and make this a restaurant fashion Korean aspect dish you may take pleasure in at residence. After a number of makes an attempt, I’m assured this recipe is spot on!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- The fast pickled cocktail cucumbers make this a quick and straightforward salad!
- Marinating the cucumbers attracts out its liquid and makes them additional crunchy
- The dressing is brilliant, tangy, garlicky, candy, and spicy! An ideal steadiness of all of the flavors!
- Serve this with any entree. It’s so versatile and goes with nearly any meat or seafood dish! Pair this with Instant Pot Korean brief ribs or this 15 minute Korean beef bowl.
Ingredients you’ll want
- Cocktail cucumbers aka Persian cucumbers – these little cucumbers are good for this dish due to their small diameter and small seeds. It makes pickling go a lot quicker!
- Korean pink pepper flakes – an especially widespread ingredient in Korean delicacies. It’s extra flavorful, barely candy and earthy, and lends any dish a vibrant pink coloration. A should attempt!
- Rice wine vinegar – a fragile, barely candy vinegar with brilliant, crisp flavors that provides this salad its signature tang!
Step by step directions
- Cut the cocktail cucumbers into ½ inch rounds. They will shrink a bit throughout the brine so keep away from chopping them too skinny. (Photo 1)
- Marinate the cucumbers with sea salt and rice wine vinegar. This ‘fast pickling’ permits them to soak up the salt and vinegar and attracts out a few of their liquid. This helps them maintain their crunchy texture. (Photo 2)
- After half-hour, the cucumbers could have launched a few of their liquid and absorbed the marinade flavors. Rinse the cucumbers beneath working water twice and style one cucumber piece. Depending in your style, you could have to rinse them yet another time. (Photos 3 and 4)
- Mix the dressing elements in a small bowl and add it to the cucumbers. Toss it gently and serve instantly. (Photos 5 – 6)
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! I like to recommend utilizing a cucumber that has a skinny pores and skin and minimal seeds. English cucumbers, kirby cucumbers, or pickling cucumbers make good replacements.
If your cucumber has plenty of seeds, I like to recommend eradicating them as it could possibly make the salad too watery. You may also peel the pores and skin when you discover it too robust.
Store any leftovers in an hermetic container and maintain it within the fridge for as much as 3 days. Keep in thoughts, the cucumbers will launch extra liquid the longer you retailer them and the flavors will get stronger the longer it sits.
I extremely advocate you employ Korean pink pepper flakes as a result of it offers this salad the gorgeous pink coloration it is recognized for. Korean pink pepper flakes are extra fruity, earthy, barely candy, and might be much less spicy relying on the model you get. It might be present in most Asian grocery shops or within the Asian meals aisle of your grocery retailer.
You can substitute with different pink pepper flakes however you will not get the colourful, intense pink coloration to the dressing. I would cut back the quantity to half to begin with relying on how spicy the substitute is.
More Cucumber Recipes:
More Korean Side Dishes:
Recipe
Spicy Korean Cucumber Salad (Oi Muchim)
This spicy Korean cucumber salad is tangy, candy, salty, and crunchy! An straightforward recipe made with cocktail cucumbers and Korean pink pepper flakes for some spice!
Instructions
- Add the cucumber rounds in a big bowl and add the ocean salt and 1 Tablespoon of rice wine vinegar. Mix it collectively and let it marinate for half-hour. Meanwhile, add all of the elements for the dressing in a small bowl and set it apart.
- After half-hour, drain out the surplus liquid from the marinated cucumbers and rinse them beneath water twice. Taste a cucumber to see if it is too salty and provides it one other rinse if wanted.
- Add the dressing to the pickled cucumbers and serve instantly.
Nutrition
Calories: 75kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 873mg | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 3mg
