Kimchi is a dish that can be served fresh. To make kimchi, fresh chicory is usually used with the addition of some spices, so that the chicory has a delicious taste. But today I will make kimchi from fresh cucumber, with the addition of spices that will enrich the taste of cucumber.
To get Cucumber Kimchi with a fresh taste, I use young cucumbers. Young cucumbers have seeds that are still soft and taste fresher than old cucumbers. I also use a dark green cucumber, with a slim shape. The selection of cucumber raw materials greatly affects the taste of the kimchi that we will process.
THE MAIN INGREDIENT
The main ingredients I use are 1 kilogram of young cucumber.
SEASONING INGREDIENT
I will choose ingredients that are easy to get around me but can still strengthen the taste of the cucumber kimchi. The additional ingredients that I use as the seasoning are :
100 grams of red chilies,If you like super spicy flavors, you can use 200 grams of red chilies
3 cloves of garlic
3 cloves of shallots
1 leek
1 apple
1 tablespoon salt
4 tablespoons of coarse salt
3 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoon vinegar
I use coarse salt, to reduce the water content in the cucumbers and also to keep the cucumbers fresh even though the water content is reduced. I added apples to add freshness and enrich the cucumber kimchi flavor. Besides apples, we can also use fresh pears. The cucumber kimchi that I will be making will have a distinct aroma of cucumber, apple, red pepper and vinegar. It is a combination of delicious cucumber kimchi with the spicy taste of dried red chilies, the sweet taste of apple and sugar, the sour taste of vinegar and the fresh taste of cucumber juice.
PREPARATION
To make fresh cucumber kimchi, first I will prepare the cucumber and red chilies, the method is:
1.Wash the cucumber thoroughly, I don't peel the cucumber skin, because there are a lot of vitamins that I need in the skin.
2.Cut the cucumber according to taste, I cut it lengthwise. don't think about the shape, we can cut the cucumber according to our taste.
3.Sprinkle coarse salt on the cucumber, while squeezing it so that the cucumber juice comes out.
4.Let the cucumbers sit for 15-30 minutes or until the moisture has reduced.
5.Discard the red chili stalks, then wash thoroughly.
6.Roast the red chilies, I use an air fryer at 180 degrees for 3 minutes. I roast the red chili so the chili flavor is stronger.
7.Grind the roasted red chilies, add salt and sugar, so it's easier to mix with the other ingredients. I still use a wooden mortar and pestle to grind the red chilies, salt and sugar, the aroma of roasted red chilies immediately breaks when the pestle breaks the skin of the chilies
HOW TO MAKE
1.Wash apples, shallots, garlic and leeks.
2.Small chopped red onion
3.Grind the garlic.
4.Chop the leeks.
5.Thinly slice the apple.
6.Mix the chopped shallots, leeks, apples and finely chopped garlic, stir until well mixed.
7.Add the crushed red chilies.
8.Add vinegar, stir again.
9.Check the cucumbers, when the water content has reduced, wash them thoroughly with running water, so that the coarse salt is gone.
10.Arrange the cucumbers in a bowl, then mix the seasonings evenly with the cucumbers.
11.Cover the bowl tightly, then put it in the fridge for 30 minutes, I do this way so that the seasoning seeps into the cucumber.
THE RESULT
After 30 minutes, remove the cucumber kimchi from the fridge.
At the first bite, the taste of garlic is really felt on the tongue, for me the cucumber feels fresh, when I bite into the apple, the taste of garlic and the spiciness of the chilies shakes my tongue, so I want to continue enjoying the cucumber kimchi.
Thank you for reading my post, for friends who like fresh and rich cucumber flavors, try my cucumber kimchi recipe.