Name: Moon Park’s cucumber kimchi (oi kimchi)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 - 6
Ingredients: 4 Joseon Korean cucumbers, or 2 telegraph cucumbers, cut into 5cm batons; ½ nashi, thinly sliced; To serve: radish sprouts; Kimchi marinade; 15 gm piece ginger, finely grated; 2 garlic cloves, crushed; 20 gm salted krill; 25 ml maesil (fermented plum extract); 1 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tbsp sesame oil; 2 tsp caster sugar; 3 tsp perilla seed powder; 1¼ tbsp gochugaru (dried chilli flakes)

Moon Park’s cucumber kimchi (oi kimchi)

Australian Gourmet Traveller recipe for cucumber kimchi (oi kimchi) by Moon Park, Sydney

Serves 4 - 6

Prep

20M

Cook

Total

25M

Skip to Recipe

“Eun makes all the kimchi at Moon Park because Korean people are better at making kimchi than people who aren’t Korean – they eat it two or three times a day from the time they’re old enough to eat solids, so they have a distinct home-field advantage,” says Sears. This cucumber kimchi is a fairly gentle introduction to making kimchi, he says, because it’s a lot easier than salting and squeezing out whole cabbages, and you don’t have to wait two months to enjoy it – it’s good to eat the next day (although better after two or three). “We serve it with nashi to add sweetness while countering some of the pungency and funk.” Start the recipe at least a day ahead to ferment the kimchi.

Ingredients

4 Joseon Korean cucumbers, or 2 telegraph cucumbers, cut into 5cm batons

½ nashi, thinly sliced

To serve: radish sprouts

Kimchi marinade

15 gm piece ginger, finely grated

2 garlic cloves, crushed

20 gm salted krill

25 ml maesil (fermented plum extract)

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 tsp caster sugar

3 tsp perilla seed powder

1¼ tbsp gochugaru (dried chilli flakes)

Method

Main

1.Place cucumber in a bowl. Bring 400ml water and 15gm salt to the boil, then pour onto cucumber. Set aside to brine for 20 minutes, then drain, rinse and drain again. Set aside.

2.For kimchi marinade, blend ginger, garlic, krill, maesil, fish sauce, sesame oil and sugar in a small food processor, then pass through a strainer into a bowl. Add perilla, gochugaru and cucumbers, place in a non-reactive container, cover and refrigerate overnight, but preferably for 2-3 days, until lightly fermented and sour.

3.Serve cucumber kimchi garnished with nashi slices and radish sprouts.