Cucumber Kimchi Oi Kimchi

Cucumber Kimchi Oi Kimchi!! How to make simple Korean Cucumber Kimchi, Oi Kimchi. This is a great, delicious and refreshing side dish to make to accompany rice or any Korean meal.

Apparently, this cucumber kimchi is going crazy on TikTok. And yes, this is a Korean recipe. 

I don’t know about you but I love a good crunchy salad. A good crunchy Cucumber Kimchi salad in this case. Oi Kimchi is extremely easy to make and so refreshing and satisfying. 

I feel you can find a banchan recipe for almost every vegetable out there. Zucchini, potatoes, radishes, spinach, bean sprouts, eggplant and the list goes on.

Cucumber Kimchi Oi Kimchi

There are several different ways to make this dish. The recipe below is how I make it. Personally, I love texture and crunch and love different things to nibble on: the cucumbers, the onions and the carrots. Today, I had a few Korean pears in the fridge so I threw those in as well. My husband didn’t like it. But I loved the unexpected sweet and spicy, crunchy and fresh element. The pears are totally optional. Buying the gochugaru, in my opinion, is not optional. Don’t look for something else. Now you can buy gochugaru from Amazon so there really are no excuses. 

I could literally just eat this and be happy. But you can serve this with rice and any main dish. We hope you try the recipe and enjoy!

Print Recipe

Cucumber Kimchi Oi Kimchi

Maybe this is more of an Oi muchim (muchim means "to season" in Korean) or a quick kimchi. Either way, make this and enjoy! *If you can't find Persian cucumbers, you can use 2 English cucumbers, or even kirby cucumbers. I enjoy a lot of different crunchy bites in my cucumber kimchi. If this is too much, cut back on the carrots and onions.

Prep Time25 mins

Total Time25 mins

Course: Appetizer or Side Dish

Cuisine: Korean

Keyword: cucumber kimchi, oi kimchi

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 6 Persian cucumbers* sliced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt or coarse sea salt
• 1 to 2 small carrots thinly sliced
• 1/2 to 1 small onion thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup Korean pear peeled and chopped; optional
• 3 tablespoons Korean gochugaru (hot pepper flakes)
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 1 to 2 green onions diced
• sesame seeds for garnish

Instructions

• Place the sliced cucumbers into a large bowl and sprinkle the salt on top. Mix gently with your hands and set aside for about 20 minutes. While your cucumbers are sitting, get everything else prepped and chopped.
• After 20 minutes, tilt the bowl with the cucumbers to discard any liquid that might be in your bowl. Some people squeeze the cucumbers in a cheese cloth or paper towel to get more excess water out but you can simply pat your cucumbers down gently with a paper towel.
• Into the same bowl, add in the carrots, onions, Korean pear (if using), gochugaru, garlic, ginger, sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, fish sauce and the green onions. Mix together until everything is combined and all of the vegetables are nicely coated. Taste and adjust anything as needed (to your taste). To serve: garnish with the sesame seeds and enjoy!
• Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Notes

*If you can't find Persian cucumbers, you can use 2 English cucumbers, or even kirby cucumbers