Korean refrigerator pickles that are delicious and simple to make with a touch of Chinese flavor! With Korean BBQ meals, it pairs incredibly well.
| Prep Time: | 25 mins |
| Cook Time: | 5 mins |
| Additional Time: | 2 hrs 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 3 hrs |
| Servings: | 10 |
| Yield: | 10 servings |
Ingredients
- 5 cucumbers, peeled and cut into 1/2 x1 1/2 inch sticks
- ½ cup sea salt
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons chili bean sauce (toban djan)
- 1 tablespoon hot chili oil
- 2 (4 inch) fresh hot red chile peppers, sliced
- 1 small onion, sliced
- 5 cloves garlic, sliced and crushed
Instructions
- Mix the cucumbers and sea salt together in a bowl, let stand for 30 minutes to let the cucumbers soften. Drain, and rinse with fresh water.
- While the cucumbers are standing in salt, whisk together the sugar, vinegar, and water in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and stir in the chili bean sauce and hot chili oil.
- Mix the cucumbers with sliced chiles, onion, and garlic in a heatproof airtight container, and pour the hot vinegar mixture over the vegetables. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours to blend the flavors. Serve chilled.
- The nutrition data for this recipe includes the full amount of the salt. The actual amount of salt consumed will vary.
Reviews
I have made this numerous times and have found it to taste like that I used to get in Korea. I usually use four red Thai chiles due to personal taste.
Too much salt! I made it exactly as the recipe says and rinsed and rinsed the salted cucumbers… to no avail! It does have a good flavor, but too salty to eat. I believe next time I will use 1 1/2 Tablespoons.
I made this to top off my pork belly sliders. It was a huge hit. I used serano peppers to back the heat off for my wife and kids. I think the chili peppers would have been great. That said, I did look forward to getting a slice of pepper. It was like candy. My neighbor immediately wanted the recipe. I will make this again. Thanks!
Perfect! Made several jars and left them at my clients homes and have been asked to make more for profit! 🙂
This is FANTASTIC!!- I left out the fresh chilis- and I only had chili pastes- not chili bean paste- Still came out great- I like hot – but not WAY hot-I’m making another batch today I LOVE Kim Chee itself, so this is a grat alternative snack !!
This was really good. I added purple cabbage as well.
I used daikon radish in place of the cucumber,and it worked really well. The flavor was fine- spicy, but not extreme. It was too sweet, though, so next time, I’ll use at lest half less of the sugar.
This has become my go-to recipe for potlucks. The dish always comes home empty. The only changes I made is to use English cucumbers and replaced the chili bean paste with equal parts black bean sauce and chili garlic sauce. These two sauces are readily available at most grocery stores and combine to make a very good tasting and spicier substitute for the chili bean paste.
I don’t have the chili bean sauce or fresh peppers but I’ve made this twice now with just the hot chili oil and it is so easy, quick, and tasty. I plan to pick up the chili bean sauce the next time I’m at the Asian grocery so I can make it as intended.
My husband REALLY liked this one! I didn’t have the chili bean sauce or the chili oil, so I replaced both those ingredients with equal parts Sriracha. My apologies to the recipe submitter–I know Sriracha is not nearly the same thing, but it was the best I could come up with 🙂 For anyone wondering how it tastes, it tastes like cucumbers in a hot & sweet vinaigrette. Thanks, I’ll make this again!