Cucumber Kimchi

My friend and coworker Stephanie Dukes offered me a two-foot-long cucumber fresh from her dad's garden.  It was unlike any store bought cucumber I have had - not as wet inside, and just slightly hairy on the outside.  It was one of the best cucumbers I have had, and it deserved a special treatment.  Kathy and I had just tried a great new local Korean restaurant, but their cucumber kimchi was just not spicy enough, and I thought maybe I could make one more to my taste.  Here is my resulting recipe.  I hope Stephanie brings me more of those cucumbers.

One thing I discovered as I researched recipes was that there is no standard recipe for cucumber kimchi.  (And no standard English spelling either.)  My suggestion is use this recipe as an idea instead of a formula.  I like mine spicy and you may not.  Next time I make it, I will probably use less sugar, and make sure I have rice vinegar, but you might like it just the way I made it. (It is pretty tasty as shown below.)

Serve this with your favorite bulgogi, perhaps this one from one of my favorite food journalists, Mark Bittman of the the NY Times.

Cucumber Kimchi

Yield: 6 cups

Ingredients 6 medium cucumbers, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into chunks about 2 ½ x ¾ x ¾ inches. Kosher salt 6 cups rice wine vinegar (or regular white vinegar if you don't have rice vinegar) 2 cups sugar (maybe a little less if you prefer) 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 1/4 cup fresh ginger matchsticks 3 large shallots, very thinly sliced 6 scallions, green tops sliced in 1" pieces, the white parts more thinly sliced 6 small radishes, very thinly sliced 1 cup shredded carrots 1 Tbs chili garlic sauce 1 Tbs cayenne 1 Tbs hot paprika 1/2 cup Thai fish sauce (nam pla)

How to Make 1.      Place the cucumbers in a colander set in the sink. Sprinkle the cucumbers generously with the salt. Allow to rest at room temperature until the cucumbers have exuded liquid, about 2 hours. Rinse the cucumbers, dry them well, and set aside. 2.      In a large, nonreactive saucepan, combine the vinegar and sugar and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger, and onions, bring to a simmer, and remove immediately from the heat. 3.      In a large, nonreactive bowl, combine the cucumbers, carrots, and radishes. Pour the vinegar mixture over them, add the chili garlic sauce, cayenne, hot paprika, and fish sauce, and toss well. 4.      Correct the seasoning with salt, if necessary. Let the mixture cool to room temperature and cover with plastic wrap. With a paring knife, punch a few holes in the plastic wrap and place the bowl in a cool, dark place. Let the mixture pickle for 24 hours. Transfer the kimchi to a tall glass jar or jars and seal tightly. Use or refrigerate.

Author: Started with a recipe by Ming Tsai, but modified with ideas from a number of other internet recipes I found. Ming Tsai's recipe can be found at this link: http://ming.com/foodandwine/recipes/season-1/cucumber-kimchee.htm.

Tips Check out recipes - you will see there is no such thing as a standard recipe for cucumber kimchi.  Adjust to your own taste! Daikon seems to be more traditional than the red radishes I used. Ming Tsai's recipe use 3 medium red onions, halved and cut into 1/8-inch slices instead of the shallots and green onions, and 4 tablespoons Korean chile flakes (kucho karu), or 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes, instead of the garlic chili sauce, cayenne, and hot paprika.