← Nouns Cooking · Korean

Ingredients

• 6 small pickling or Korean cucumbers
• 60 g coarse sea salt
• 1.2 l Water
• 80 g Garlic chives, cut into 1 cm pieces
• 80 g Korean radish or daikon (or 1/4 onion), cut into fine matchsticks
• 4 tbsp Gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes)
• 1 tbsp Fish sauce
• 1½ tbsp Saeujeot (Korean salted shrimp), finely chopped
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 tsp Ginger, grated
• 2 tsp Sugar

Method

1. Trim the cucumber ends and cut each into 2 or 3 pieces about 7 cm long. Cut a deep cross into each piece from one end, stopping 1 cm short of the other so it holds together.
2. Bring the water and salt to the boil and pour it over the cucumbers in a heatproof bowl. Weigh them down with a plate and leave for 1 hour, until they bend without snapping.
3. Meanwhile mix all the filling ingredients together.
4. Rinse the cucumbers once and drain well, cut side down. Gently open each one and push the filling into the cuts with your fingers.
5. Pack into a container, swirl 2 tbsp water in the filling bowl and pour it over. Leave at room temperature for half a day, then refrigerate and eat within a week or two, while it is still crunchy.

Tips

• Pouring boiling brine over the cucumbers keeps them crisp for longer.
• Contains salted shrimp and fish sauce; for a vegetarian version use soy sauce and a pinch more salt.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Korean Bapsang FutureDish