Lola's Cucumber Kimchi

lumpialady11
Feb 8, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Feb 13, 2024

One of my favorite recipes from my mom! Makes a great side dish, or snack.

"Masarap." (delicious) –Lola Linda

The best part? It's super easy to make and you can have it the day you make it! You can also adjust the spice level to your taste. We love kimchi, and we love how simple this recipe is. It's got a cool crunch, garlic spice, umami, and a hint of sweetness. You'll love this as a side to your beef bulgogi and steamed rice!

Lola's Cucumber Kimchi

Estimated prep time: 10-15 min. Total time: 20 min. Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

2 cucumbers, deseeded and chopped into bite-size pieces
About 1/4 cup yellow or white onion, diced
About 2-3 green onions, sliced (use white and green pieces)
1-2 tsp minced garlic
1-2 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp Korean chili powder (or more if you like spice)
Chili garlic sauce
Fish sauce
Sesame oil
Sesame seeds
*optional: applesauce for sweetness or sugar to taste
optional: a sprinkle of beef or chicken bouillon for flavor

*we don't traditionally add this, but if you want to balance out the spice with some applesauce, white sugar, or rock sugar, it is totally up to you!

Directions

Prep cucumber: cut off ends, slice long ways, deseed cucumbers using a spoon then dice into bite-size pieces and place into a bowl.
Salt cucumbers: add a generous amount of salt to the cucumbers and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes. You can prep/measure your other ingredients while you wait!
Rinse cucumbers: wash well with water, make sure to use your hands to rub off excess salt, and rinse at least twice. Hint: taste the cucumber after two washes. If it's still too salty, rinse again. It should have a slight saltiness to it.
Add diced onion, sliced green onion, minced garlic, minced ginger, and Korean chili powder. Add optional applesauce or sugar if you'd like. Make adjustments as you see fit. Then add about 1 Tbsp of chili garlic sauce and a small splash fish sauce to taste (start with a little, then build the saltiness and spice). Finally, a small drizzle of sesame oil and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
Enjoy! Your Korean cucumber kimchi is complete! It should be the most glorious green and spicy red with hints of subtle gold from the garlic and ginger. The umami flavor is divine, and if it's too spicy, try adding some sugar! Or enjoy mixed in steamed white rice. Store in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.

We had it with beef bulgogi, bok choy, air-fried wontons, and udon noodles with a homemade hoisin sauce. My son loved the beef, but kimchi is still a little too much for his age lol. Maybe one day.

Let me know if you try it and any additions of your own! I think to make it truly Korean kimchi, you can use Korean pear to sweeten things up and enhance the fermentation process! Also, mini cucumbers work wonderfully too! You don't have to deseed those! Just slice them into coins, or long pieces if you wish.

Here are the products I used. I highly recommend the ready-minced garlic and ginger or easy-squeeze garlic and ginger. It's simply easier and quicker. You can likely find the Korean chili powder/hot pepper powder and chili garlic sauce at a Korean grocery store, or try the international section at your local grocer. Be careful with the patis (fish sauce)! A little goes a long way. Also, the chili garlic sauce makes this recipe sooo good! It's the neatest trick/shortcut I learned regarding this easy kimchi recipe. Salamat, Mom!