Banchans are small, portioned Korean side dishes intended to be shared and eaten with rice and other mains. These often include an array of flavorful vegetables stirred or marinated in various ways. I love Korean food so I am always super excited to try new side dishes. There is nothing more fun than being served a variety of options of textures and flavors for a meal. Kimchi – perhaps – one of my favorite banchan is a dish of fermented cabbage that is sour, salty and spicy that is served alongside every Korean meal.
Whilst I grew up eating and loving cabbage kimchi, I recently came to love cucumber kimchi. Apart from adding cucumber to salads I’ve never eaten cucumbers like this before! The freshness of the cucumbers pairs so well with the spiciness from the gochugaru.
After experimenting with different quantities and proportions and ingredients I’ve developed a QUICK version that I really like! Here are a few tips and tricks to share:
- Cucumbers are full of water; so it is essential you salt the cucumber and let it sit to get out all the extra juices! I also use Persian cucumbers not only because they are perfect in size but also because they hold less water content than large English cucumbers
- Do not use a lot of liquid seasonings. Instead of soy sauce, I’ve opted for fish sauce (which packs a good salty punch in small quantities) and also regular salt to ensure the marinade is thicker
- Good quality gochugaru (or Korean chili flakes) is critical – sometimes it can taste bitter – so make sure to find some good quality gochugaru
Recently my husband and I have enjoyed a lot of Korean bbq at home, using our own portable stove and Korean grill pan. This cucumber recipe comes in handy for a quick side dish to enjoy with the greasy beef. I also love making our homemade gf samjjang with this!
- 3 Persian cucumber, sliced into discs (180g)
- ½ tsp salt
- Sauce:
- 1⅓ tbsp gochugaru (good quality)
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp apple cider / white vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 large clove garlic, finely minced
- 1 spring onion, finely chopped
- Sesame seeds
- Drizzle of sesame oil, optional but highly recommended
- Cut the cucumber into thin discs.
- Massage in the salt and set aside for 20-30 mins. Drain the water off and use your hands to squeeze the cucumbers to release the excess water carefully (do not rinse off the water because you want to retain some of the salt)..
- In a small bowl mix all the remaining ingredients together. Add the drained and squeezed cucumber and toss to season.
- Taste and adjust seasoning to your preference
- Garnish with sesame oil and sesame seeds It will taste best chilled so I recommend letting it sit ithe fridge for a couple hours however you can serve immediately if you want! This will last in the fridge for up to a week days!
Leave a Reply