Stuffed Cucumber Kimchi (Oi Sobagi)

This stuffed Korean cucumber kimchi recipe is so delicious, crunchy, light, and spicy. Perfect for a hot summer day! This kimchi can be eaten fresh immediately after making it, or it can also be left to ferment in the refrigerator for up to two months.

This kimchi is a really popular kimchi in Korea during the summer. We absolutely love eating and making cucumber kimchi in the summertime too. It’s really hydrating and refreshing! Plus, there’s always an abundance of cucumbers since it is in season in the summer. You’ll want to make enough of this stuffed spicy cucumber kimchi to last you for a couple of months of kimchi eating bliss.

Key tips and features

We suggest using pickling cucumbers for this recipe. Pickling cucumbers have a really nice crunch. Pickling cucumbers may also be called kirby cucumbers, dill cucumbers, or Liberty cucumbers. We will be slicing slits into the cucumber to create a sort of pocket where we can stuff the spicy kimchi paste into. That way each piece of cucumber is really getting all of that spicy kimchi goodness, and not just the outside.

Ingredients needed for this kimchi recipe

• Pickling cucumbers
• Green onions
• Carrots (shredded/matchsticks)
• Fresh garlic
• Fresh ginger root
• Fish sauce
• Salted/brined shrimp
• Korean red chili pepper powder (gochugaru)
• Sugar
• Salt
• Sweet rice flour
• Water

How to make this delicious stuffed cucumber kimchi

Step 1: Prep and salt the cucumbers

Let’s clean and salt the cucumbers first. Rinse and clean the cucumbers well to remove any dirt or debris. Cut each cucumber in half. Then slice them each lengthwise twice, but not all the way to the end – leave about ½” at the end uncut. You should end up with each cucumber sliced into quarters but are still intact at the very end.

Open each cucumber and sprinkle salt all over the cucumbers and crevices. Let it soak in the salt for about 6 hours in a very large bowl or container. Halfway through (at about the 3-hour mark), flip the cucumbers so that the bottom ones are flipped to the top of the pile, and the cucumbers that were on top are moved towards the bottom of the pile. 

Step 2: Make the sweet rice powder mixture

While the cucumbers are sitting in the salt, let’s make the sweet rice powder mixture. Mix the cup of cold water with sweet rice powder in a small pot and mix well. Turn on the stovetop to medium-high and boil cold water and sweet rice powder mixture. Make sure to stir it constantly to ensure it does not burn. As soon as it begins to boil, turn off the stove, remove the pot from the burner, let it cool, and set it aside for later.

Step 3: Make the kimchi paste

Mix the rest of the ingredients together to make the kimchi paste, along with the cooled rice flour mixture. 

Step 4: Discard excess water from the salted cucumbers

After 6 hours is up, discard the excess water that left the cucumbers. Do not rinse the salt off the cucumbers. 

Step 5: Stuff the cucumbers

Rub the kimchi paste into each of the cucumber crevices to ensure it is stuffed into the cucumbers well and as evenly as possible.

Step 6: Store the stuffed cucumbers in a jar/container

Place each stuffed cucumber into a clean jar/container and stack them on top of each. Try to remove the air pockets very gently as much as possible from the jar/container, but don’t push it too hard because you don’t want to bruise and mash the cucumbers. Pressing down on top of each layer gently as you go. Save a few out to eat and enjoy now! Yummy!

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Stuffed Cucumber Kimchi (Oi Sobagi)

Yield: 5 servings

Prep Time: 6 hours 15 minutes

Total Time: 6 hours 15 minutes

This stuffed Korean cucumber kimchi recipe is so delicious, crunchy, light, and spicy. Perfect for a hot summer day!

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Ingredients

• 10 pickling cucumbers
• 2 bundles of green onions, chopped ¼” pieces
• 1 cup carrots, shredded/matchsticks
• 3 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 Tbsp)
• 1 tsp fresh ginger root, minced
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 2 Tbsp salted/brined shrimp
• 1 cup Korean red chili pepper powder (gochugaru)
• 2 tsp sugar
• ½ cup salt
• 1 Tbsp sweet rice flour
• 1 cup water

Instructions

1. Let’s clean and salt the cucumbers first. Rinse and clean the cucumbers well to remove any dirt or debris. Cut each cucumber in half. Then slice them each lengthwise twice, but not all the way to the end - leave about ½” at the end uncut. You should end up with each cucumber sliced into quarters but are still intact at the very end. Open each cucumber and sprinkle salt all over the cucumbers and crevices. Let it soak in the salt for about 6 hours in a very large bowl or container. Half way through (at about the 3 hour mark), flip the cucumbers so that the bottom ones are flipped to the top of the pile, and the cucumbers that were on top are moved towards the bottom of the pile.
2. While the cucumbers are sitting in the salt, let's make the sweet rice powder mixture. Mix the cup of cold water with sweet rice powder in a small pot and mix well. Turn on the stovetop to medium-high and boil cold water and sweet rice powder mixture. Make sure to stir it constantly to ensure it does not burn. As soon as it begins to boil, turn off the stove, remove the pot from the burner, let it cool, and set it aside for later.
3. Mix the rest of the ingredients together to make the kimchi paste, along with the cooled rice flour mixture.
4. After the 6 hours is up, discard the excess water that left the cucumbers. Do not rinse the salt off the cucumbers. Rub the kimchi paste into each of the cucumber crevices to ensure it is stuffed into the cucumbers well and as evenly as possible.
   Place each stuffed cucumber into a clean jar/container and stack them on top of each. Try to remove the air pockets very gently as much as possible from the jar/container, but don’t push it too hard because you don’t want to bruise and mash the cucumbers. Pressing down on top of each layer gently as you go.
   

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