Oi Sobagi – Stuffed Cucumber Kimchi
(Traditional)
Fermented – Raw – Vegan
This is a nice and easy to make quick kimchi. Classic for the summertime and are served stuffed to compliment a main dish; they are not quite a condiment and not quite a snack.
The contrasting colours make it great to brighten any dish – the vibrant green of the cucumbers and the red of the chili peppers. This is a great kim-chi for children to try for the first time if not use to foods like kim-chi!
Ingredients Needed:
Brine…
– 2 pounds of cucumbers, unpeeled but with the ends trimmed English cucumbers
– 2 tbsp of sea salt
Filling…
– ¼ cup Korean chili pepper flakes (adjust to your liking)
– 6 ounces Korean chives, finely chopped or 8 green onions, green and white parts, finely chopped.
– ½ cup shredded carrots, optional
– 1 tsp sugar
Directions:
Cut the cucumbers in half width-wise and make a deep X shaped incision extending 2/3’s of the way down the inside of each cucumber.
Place the cucumbers in a sieve set over a bowl, sprinkle the inside with the salt and allow to set for 30 minutes to drain. Stuff the chili flakes mixture into the cucumbers. Make sure to place the mixture into all the crevices. Do two passes: the first focusing on the horizontal segments and the second on the vertical.
Quick Cucumber Kim-chi
Place the cucumbers in a 2 quart-size containers and spoon the remaining filling on top. Pour the reserved brine liquid into the containers, cover, and set aside at room temperature for 1 or 2 days. After recommended time, taste the crunchiness and balance of flavors. It should be salty, sweet, and savory.
Serve the cucumbers when the crunchiness that you like. Keep any leftovers in the fridge. This is a quick ferment and keeps about 3 to 7 days. You can keep the reserve kimchi pickle juice to serve over rice noodles or use as a cold soup.
This is a standard plate served at meals in our house, in Korea they do the same. Called banchan, they are set in the middle of the table to be shared. At the center of the table is the secondary main course, such as galbi or bulgogi, and a shared pot of jjigae. Bowls of cooked rice and guk (soup) are set individually. Banchan are served in small portions, meant to be finished at each meal and are replenished during the meal if not enough.
This method of eating allows each person to customize their dish to with flavor, heat, and spice.
Who can guess the condiments in the photo?
I start you off with B.R. – gochujang – hot fermented chili paste
B.L. – fresh Japanese wasabi paste
Good luck!
Fermented & pickled condiments in the Korean Style
This is close to a traditional Kimchi…there are many types of kimchi, but when people in Korea say kimchi, they mean this style.
Recipe? I never really follow one. But here goes…
– 2 large heads of Nappa cabbage. Quarter and soak in a heavy salt brine for an hour or more to pull off some liquid, rinse salt, then chop to desired size
– daikon or normal radish julienned
– carrots julienned
– any sea vegetables or other veggies you like
– sesame seeds, black is nice for contrast
– Garlic, ginger, and scallions or green onion
– tbsp or more rice flour, depending on the batch size
– Sugar 1/8 c, or to your liking, optional
– Korean chili flakes (eBay or Amazon) to taste, also gives the nice red colour
– fish sauce to taste, recommend a good Thai FS (has salt, too, so adjust)
– dried anchovies or fermented shrimp paste as needed, not to many though
– soy sauce or salt to make the brine
The F.S. and anchovies brings the deep umami flavor!
Heat the flour with some water and make a thin paste. Cook until it thickens, but not burnt. Raw flour will give an off taste. This is used to thicken the liquid and make it stick to the cabbage.
In a large bowl, mix flour paste with the chili, F.S., anchovies, and soy sauce. Then add veggies and sesame seeds, mix.
Add the cabbage last, mix.
Keep mixture under the brine like you would kraut. If not enough liquid at first, no worries, it will form as the weights press down. Should only take an hour or so for this to happen. You can add some extra salt brine if needed, but make sure
to mix it all up again.
I use a 3L Japanese Pickle Press…for no fuss, no weights, no problems. We have them at our web store if needed.
After liquid covers, taste and add more salt and/or chili as needed.
Allow to ferment for 3 to 5 days, or more.
Then pack into jars and place in fridge.
Source for Kefir, Kombucha, Koji Spores, Tempeh, & Other Traditional Food Cultures…
