Oi Sobagi (cucumber kimchi) is a delicious kimchi with a refreshing taste and crunchy texture. In Korea, Oi Sobagi is more often enjoyed during the spring and summer time when cucumbers are in season. However, you can enjoy it for any meals at any time of the year.
Traditionally, cucumbers are stuffed with Korean chives and seasoning, which is great for presentation. To save time and effort, you can cut up cucumbers into smaller bite-sized pieces and mix up with the seasoning instead.
When selecting cucumbers, try to find cucumbers with less seeds. You can use Korean cucumber, kirby cucumber, english cucumber or any other pickling cucumbers for this recipe. You can modify the spicy level by adding more or less gochugaru.
Oi Sobagi gets fermented faster compared to other types of kimchi. So, it’s better to make a smaller amount at a time.
In our recipe video, we used 5 English cucumbers to make 20 stuffed pieces of cucumber kimchi. We used our Crazy Korean Cooking Kimchi Container 1.3 Gallon (5.2L) size for this amount.
For serving, 1 or 2 pieces are enough for one person per meal.
Cucumber Kimchi, Oi Sobagi
Equipment
1 Gloves
Buy Kimchi Ingredients Here.
Ingredients
- 5 English Cucumber
- 5 cup Water
- 3/4 cup Coarse Sea Salt We use Korean coarse sea salt. Depending on what type and grain size you use, the amount may vary. If you are using finer salt, you will need more.
Filling
- 12 oz Korean Chives Cut into ½ inch length. You can use Chinese chives (Chives from Korea are usually more tender though).
- 8 Roots Green Onion Cut into ¼ inch length.
- 3.5 oz Carrot Finely julienned
- 1 Onion, Medium Thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup Gochugaru (Korean Hot Pepper Flakes) This recipe is on the spicy side so cut gochugaru by 20-30% if you want medium spicy.
- 3 TBS Garlic minced
- ½ tsp Ginger minced
- 3 TBS Salted Shrimp (Sae Woo Jeot) Can be found in refrigerated section of Korean market. Can use anchovy fish sauce instead.
- 2.5 TBS Anchovy Fish Sauce (Meol Chi Jeot) Use Korean brand if you can. If you can't find it, you can use vietnamese (three shrimp brand)
- 1 tbs Sugar or artificial sweetener or use minced apple
Instructions
Brine cucumber
- Cut off about 1 inch from both ends of each cucumber (Ends can be bitter).5 English Cucumber
- Cut each cucumber into 4 equal pieces. (about 2.5-3 inches each)
- Make a cross-shaped slit (like a plus sign), leaving about 0.5 inch on the other end. This will create a pocket for stuffing.
- Boil water and add salt. Stir until fully dissolved. (3/4 cup of coarse sea salt for every 5 cup of water)5 cup Water, 3/4 cup Coarse Sea Salt
- Pour boiled saltwater over the cucumbers. Boiling saltwater gives crips texture and prevents them from getting watery later.
- Let it brine until cucumber is easily bendable. (1 - 2 hours depending on cucumber thickness)
- Flip cucumbers every 20-30 min to ensure even brining.
- If the cut cucumber pieces easily bend outwards, brining is done.
- Rinse cucumbers twice under cold water and drain well in a strainer.
Make filling
- Slice onion as thin as possible.1 Onion, Medium
- Finely julienne carrot. (Or use mandoline to thinly shred) Don't use the core for better color and flavor.3.5 oz Carrot
- Cut Korean chives into ½ inch lengths.12 oz Korean Chives
- Cut the white part of green onion in half. Then, chop the whole green onion into ¼ inch lengths.8 Roots Green Onion
- Finely chop salted shrimp (Use high-quality ones produced in Korea if possible; avoid squished or clumped shrimp)3 TBS Salted Shrimp (Sae Woo Jeot)
- In a medium bowl, mix finely chopped salted shrimp, anchovy fish sauce, sugar, minced garlic, grated ginger, gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes).⅓ cup Gochugaru, 3 TBS Garlic, ½ tsp Ginger, 2.5 TBS Anchovy Fish Sauce (Meol Chi Jeot), 1 tbs Sugar
- Add onion, carrot, chives and green onions and mix by tossing gently. Do not massage or squeeze.3.5 oz Carrot, 1 Onion, Medium, 12 oz Korean Chives
Stuff cucumbers
- Stuff as much filling as possible into each slit cucumber piece.
- Rub some seasonig on the outside of each cucumber.
- Lay them flat in a container, stacking them tightly in alternating directions for compact storage.
- If you are using our Crazy Korean Cooking kimchi container, close the inner lid of the kimchi container and press so everything gets packed tightly. Then close the valve and outer lid.
- Let it sit at room temperature for 1 day.
- Then, refrigerate.
- Enjoy once chilled and slightly fermented. Tastes best after 2-3 days in the fridge. While cucumber kimchi won't go bad for weeks and even months, it taste better when it's eaten within a couple of weeks unlike napa cabbage kimchi.
Notes
Good to Know
Optional Ingredients and Substitution Salted Shrimp: Salted shrimp can be found in the refrigerated or freezer section of Korean markets. If you can't find locally, you can try https://www.kevinschoices.com (they ship nationally). Store salted shrimp in the freezer to keep it for a long time since only a small amount is used at a time. Due to its saltiness, it doesn't freeze solid so you can use it anytime without thawing. Using only salted shrimp or a mix of salted shrimp and anchovy fish sauce results in refreshing and clean taste for this kimchi. However, some Koreans, especially in the southern Korea, use anchovy sauce only. Use rubber gloves!Use clean food-safe rubber cloves when handling spicy seasoning. Otherwise, your hands will sting from salt and chili peppers. Frequently Asked Questions You can buy coarse sea salt from local Korean market or order online here. How long should I ferment cucumber kimchi for? Unlie other kimchi, cucumber kimchi is best when eaten with a few days to a couple of weeks. It's usually ready to eat after fermenting in room temperature but ensure to refrigerate to chill before eating. Lukewarm cucumber doesn't taste good. How should I store my kimchi and how long does it last?
Traditionally, kimchi (including kkakdugi) was stored in earthenware called "Ong-gi." Ong-gi (Onggi) is breathable pottery that keeps kimchi and other fermented foods in an optimal condition. Today, most Koreans use plastic kimchi containers to store Kimchi , and keep the containers in a specialized Kimchi fridge. Kimchi fridges keep kimchi at an optimal temperature, and keeps your regular fridge free of the potent kimchi smell. If you don't have any of the above, place the kimchi in a tightly sealed container and keep in the fridge. When you place kimchi in a container, make sure you press down firmly to get rid of any air between kimchi. White cucumber kimchi can last for many months, it tastes best to eat within a couple of weeks unlike other types of kimchi. If you keep it longer than 1 month, it will get too sour and mushy.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
