Quick Cucumber Kimchi
Crunchy cucumbers tossed in a garlicky chili paste with ginger and fish sauce — ready to eat in under an hour and tangier by the day, no fermenting crock required.
Nutrition per serving
½ cup- Net carbs
- 4.4g
- Calories
- 25kcal
- Protein
- 1.2g
- Fat
- 0.4g
- Total carbs
- 6.1 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient (optional ingredients excluded). Brands vary — check your labels if you track closely.
Ingredients
Vegan: Tamari replaces the fish sauce for a plant-based kimchi with the same savory depth.
- Use the tamari in the chili paste in place of the fish sauce, and taste for salt — tamari is a little saltier.
Cucumber & daikon: Thin squares of daikon radish add a peppery crunch that lasts even longer in the jar — a nod to kkakdugi, Korean radish kimchi.
- Salt the daikon along with the cucumbers; it needs the full 30 minutes to soften slightly.
Fresh sesame salad (oi muchim): The quick, unfermented cousin: thin cucumber coins dressed with toasted sesame oil and seeds, made to eat within the hour.
- Slice the cucumbers into thin coins instead of spears and salt them for just 10 minutes.
- Leave out the fish sauce (use less gochugaru if you like it mild) and toss with the sesame oil and seeds. Serve within an hour, while crunchy.
- Nice to have (optional)
- Nice to have (optional)
- Also add
- Nice to have (optional)
-
1 tbsp fish sauceleave out - Also add
- Nice to have (optional)
Estimated cost $3.08 for 6 servings ($0.51 each) · how we estimate
Instructions
-
Toss the cucumber pieces with the salt in a bowl and let them sit for 30 minutes, tossing once halfway. They will release liquid and turn slightly flexible.
-
Meanwhile, stir the gochugaru, garlic, ginger, fish sauce, rice vinegar and sweetener into a thick red paste.
-
Rinse the cucumbers briefly under cold water to wash off the excess salt, drain well and pat dry with a towel. Taste a piece — it should be pleasantly seasoned, not salty.
-
Add the green onions and the chili paste and toss with your hands (wear gloves) or a spatula until every piece is coated.
-
Eat right away as a fresh, crunchy side, or pack it into a clean jar, press it down and refrigerate. After a day it turns tangier and more kimchi-like. Sprinkle with sesame seeds to serve.
Tips for success
-
Kirby (pickling) and Persian cucumbers have thin skins and few seeds, so they stay crunchy. With an English cucumber, scoop out the seedy center first. - Gochugaru is milder and fruitier than crushed red pepper. If you use regular red pepper flakes, start with half the amount — they are much hotter.
- Serve with Korean beef bowls or egg roll in a bowl, or chop it into cauliflower fried rice.
Nice to have, not needed
- Food-safe gloves keep the chili off your hands while you toss — a spatula works too.
Storage & meal prepMeal-prep friendly
- Keeps 5 days in the fridge
- Doesn’t freeze well
Reheat: Serve cold
Prep tip: Make it on prep day: it is crisp and fresh at first and turns pleasantly tangy by day two or three.
Refrigerate in a sealed jar up to 5 days. The cucumbers soften and grow more sour over time. Do not freeze.
Variations
3 variations, each with its own ingredients and macrosVegan
DietTamari replaces the fish sauce for a plant-based kimchi with the same savory depth.
- fish sauce → tamari or soy sauce
4.4 g net · 26 kcal · 1.3 g protein · 0.4 g fat · ≈$0.50 per serving (same net carbs as the original)
Cucumber & daikon
VeggiesThin squares of daikon radish add a peppery crunch that lasts even longer in the jar — a nod to kkakdugi, Korean radish kimchi.
- Kirby or Persian cucumbers → Kirby or Persian cucumbers
- + 1½ cups daikon radish
4.2 g net · 26 kcal · 1.1 g protein · 0.4 g fat · ≈$0.57 per serving (−0.2 g net carbs vs the original)
Fresh sesame salad (oi muchim)
FlavorThe quick, unfermented cousin: thin cucumber coins dressed with toasted sesame oil and seeds, made to eat within the hour.
- + 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- + 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- no fish sauce
4.4 g net · 46 kcal · 1.3 g protein · 2.6 g fat · ≈$0.55 per serving (same net carbs as the original)
Save it for later
Pin this recipe to your keto board so it’s there when you plan next week.
Save to Pinterest
