Recipe · Kimchi and sides
Spicy cucumber salad in 20 minutes
오이무침 oi muchim: crunchy cucumbers in a red, garlicky dressing. It's the side dish to make while the rice cooks.
Ingredients
Cucumbers
- 1 lb cucumbers (2 English or 4 to 5 Persian)
- 1 tsp salt
Dressing
- 1 tbsp Taekyung gochugaru, flake
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
To add
- 1 scallion, sliced
- ¼ small onion, sliced thin (optional)
Taekyung gochugaru, flake4.7 out of 5 stars, 15,029 ratings on Amazon
Buy Flake 1 lb on AmazonFlake 1 lb: $12.95 on Amazon.com on Oct 30, 2026. All sizes, flake or fine
Method
Slice
Cut the cucumbers into thin rounds, about 1/8 inch thick. Halve them first if they're wide.
Salt them
Toss the slices with the salt and leave them for 10 to 15 minutes. Pour off the water and squeeze them gently. This keeps them crunchy in the dressing.
Mix the dressing
In a bowl, stir the gochugaru, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and sesame oil together.
Toss and serve
Add the cucumbers, scallion and onion, toss until they're red all over, and top with the sesame seeds. Eat it within a few hours, while it's still crisp.
More heat
Add another teaspoon of gochugaru, or a sliced green chili.
With what?
Serve it beside rich, warm dishes, like spicy pork stir-fry.
New to gochugaru? Read the guide
Ready to cook?
This recipe uses the flake cut. You check out on Amazon.
Buy Flake 1 lb on AmazonFlake 1 lb: $12.95 on Amazon.com on Oct 30, 2026.