Quick Cucumber Kimchi
A quick Korean cucumber kimchi recipe that’s spicy, sweet and tangy. It’s perfect either as a side dish or a main salad. Enjoy the recipe below!
Quick Cucumber Kimchi Recipe
Serves 1-2
Ingredients
- 1 lb Persian cucumbers
- 1/2 tablespoon salt to draw out water from cucumbers
- 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1-1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon Korean red pepper flakes
- 2 garlic cloves (peel and mince)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
Instructions
- Wash the cucumbers thoroughly, remove ends and slice into at least 1/4-inch circles.
- In a medium-size bowl, combine salt and sliced cucumbers. Give them a good toss to evenly coat. Set aside for at least 30 minutes or when cucumbers release most or all of its water. Rinse them off lightly to get rid of the excess salt. Lightly squeeze and drain dry. Give the bowl a quick rinse and transfer cucumbers back to bowl.
- Make the sauce: In a small bowl, mix together soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, Korean red pepper flakes, garlic and rice vinegar. Give it a quick taste and adjust if necessary.
- Pour sauce over the cucumbers and toss to evenly coat.
- Serve immediately or placed in the refrigerator to chill lightly. If cucumbers are stored in the fridge for more than a day, the sauce will draw more water from the cucumbers and appear watery, which will not look as appetizing but still taste wonderful.
Vietnamese Squid or Calamari Salad (Goi Muc) is a light and refreshing appetizer to go along side any entrée. Like all Vietnamese salads, this squid salad is coated with a sweet, salty, sour and spicy fish sauce dressing and topped with crunchy fried garlic.
Vietnamese Shaking Beef is seared cubed steak sauteed with garlic, onion, butter, and a soy marinade. The beef goes onto a bed of lettuce, watercress, tomato and/or cucumbers, and served with an optional lime-salt-and-pepper dipping sauce.
Gỏi Đu Đủ Khô Bò is a refreshing Vietnamese green papaya and beef jerky salad. It is topped with roasted peanuts, Thai Basil leaves and dressed in a sweet vinegary soy sauce. All the components in this salad create the perfect harmony of flavor and texture.
If you are following any vegan trends, you probably heard of the use of young jackfruit as a pulled pork replacement. The Vietnamese have been using young jackfruit since forever as a meat replacement. Here is one of the most popular way to use youngfruit in a salad.
The most traditional and popular way to use watercress in Vietnamese home cooking is in a salad with stir-fried beef and a tangy vinegar fish sauce dressing (Bo Xao Xa Lach Xoong). This can be served as a simple appetizer or one of the many sides dishes in a traditional home cooked Vietnamese meal.
One of the most popular Vietnamese salads is Gỏi Gà Bắp Cải. It's a refreshing salad of hand-shredded chicken, cabbage, carrots, onions and Vietnamese coriander; mixed with a sweet and savory fish sauce dressing; and topped with crunchy roasted peanuts and fried shallots.
For this quick appetizer, I topped a simple salad with slices of grilled lemongrass beef. The salad was dressed with a classic Vietnamese fish sauce dipping sauce and sprinkled with chopped roasted peanuts. For a heartier entree version, try adding rice noodles to the salad.
A banana blossom salad made with red cabbage, white onions and red bell peppers, topped with minced mint, Vietnamese coriander, roasted peanuts and the same generous pour of fish sauce dressing.
Now that Spring has sprung, it is time for a light and refreshing dish. One of my favorite dishes in this warm weather is Vietnamese Shrimp Salad (Goi Tom).
Lightly dressed in a combination of soy, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, sesame oil and roasted sesame seeds, this sweet and tangy cucumber salad comes together in five minutes. Enjoy it as a healthy side dish to grilled meats.