This simple Korean side dish recipe is one of my favorites. The best part is there’s no cooking involved. This salad can be prepared in three steps: chop, season and mix.

Spicy Cucumber is known as oi-muchim 오이무침. Oi means cucumber and muchim means mixed.  A side dish, or banchan, is eaten with a main dish consisting of meat, rice or noodles. Typically, there can be up to 4 or 5 side dishes for a main dish.

Grab a bowl, a chopping board and let’s get started.

Ingredients

• 2 small English cucumbers
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons of hot pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon of sugar (optional; I prefer to use brown sugar)
• 2 cloves of garlic; minced
• 2 green onions/scallions; chopped
• 2 teaspoons of roasted sesame seeds
• 2 teaspoons of sesame oil
• ¼ thinly sliced onions 

Let’s Prepare

Wash and cut the cucumbers in half then chop diagonally into smaller pieces. Afterwards, put the cucumbers in a large bowl.

Time to season! In the same bowl with the cucumbers, add the soy sauce, hot pepper flakes, minced garlic, onions, sugar, sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds and green onions/scallions.

Now mix all the ingredients with a spoon without crushing the cucumbers. Make sure the sugar has melted and all the ingredients are spread evenly.

Let’s Eat

Now you’re ready to eat your salad with your main dish. It’s best to eat the cucumbers fresh, when they are more crunchy. I find that this side dish tastes much better a day or two after it’s made. Cucumbers kept passed three days may get too mushy.

Refrigerate any leftovers and add some to your meals each time you eat. Be mindful cucumbers create excess water, so you may have to spill some water out each day. Enjoy!