Spicy stuffed cucumber kimchi

Oisobagi kimchi 오이소박이 김치

Cucumber kimchi (oi-sobagi) is made by turning a cucumber into a pocket and stuffing it with vegetables and kimchi paste. It’s delicious and refreshing and it’s a great kimchi to make when cucumbers are in season and you don’t feel like waiting for your kimchi to ferment. You can eat this right away: they’re cool, spicy, and crunchy and go well with beef and radish soup. Cucumber kimchi is a good example of a kimchi that doesn’t have to be fermented to be great.

It’s  been a very popular recipe on my website ever since I first posted it. However my original video used copyright-protected music (‘A Message to You, Rudy’ by The Specials), and the sound was recently removed by the copyright holder. Many people have been asking me to remake the video, so with cucumbers in season it’s a good time to do it. Enjoy the updated video!

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Wash the cucumbers. Make pockets out of them by slicing them twice lengthwise at right angles, ½ inch from one end so the cucumber quarters are still connected to each other at the end.oisobagioi-sobagi
  2. Put them in a big bowl, and sprinkle and rub them with salt inside and out. Let them sit for 10 minutes on the kitchen counter, and then turn them over so they’re evenly salted. Then turn them over and let them sit another 10 minutes.cucumber kimchi
  3. Rinse the cucumbers in cold water a couple of times to remove excess salt. Drain and set aside.
  4. Combine buchu (Asian chives), carrot, hot pepper flakes, fish sauce, sugar, and sesame seeds in a large bowl. Mix well with a wooden spoon.
  5. Stuff the seasoning paste into the cucumber pockets. If you have sensitive skin, you can wear rubber gloves for this because the paste might irritate your hands.oisobagioisobagi seasoningoisobagi stuffing
  6. Serve immediately as a side dish for rice, and keep the leftovers in the refrigerator. If you prefer it to be fermented a bit more, let the container sit at room temperature for a couple of days until it smells and tastes sour. Then put it into the fridge. Serve cold.

oi-sobagi

oi-sobagi

My original video shows how to make barley rice. Eventually I’ll make a videos for this, too, but in the meantime here’s the recipe:

Barley Rice

Ingredients

  • 1 cup short grain rice, 1 cup  barley

Directions

  1. Combine rice and barley rice in a heavy pot.
  2. Wash and drain a couple of times. Drain water as much as you can and add 2½ cups water.
  3. Cover and let it sit at least 30 minutes.
  4. Bring the pot to a boil over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes.
  5. Open the lid and turn the rice over with a rice scoop or spoon.
  6. Simmer it over low heat for another 10 minutes.
  7. Fluff with a rice scoop to remove excess steam. Serve immediately with side dishes.

Posted on Sunday, January 27th, 2008 at 10:49 pm. Last updated on August 10, 2021.
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228 Comments:

  1. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,047 comments
    Posted February 12th, 2008 at 7:07 am | or create a profile.

    Hi,April
    Thank you for your nice comment.
    Keep checking my site. You will have fun if you are interested in korean cooking. : )

  2. April
    Posted February 12th, 2008 at 3:59 am | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi,
    You are so adorable in your videos:) Thanks so much for posting these shows on how to cook Korean food. You make everything look so easy. I am really inspired to learn how to cook. Please keep up the great work.

  3. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,047 comments
    Posted February 5th, 2008 at 8:03 am | or create a profile.

    Hi,Dia,
    gamja jorim (cubed potatoes with brown sweet glaze)
    sure, I will include it in the list of my upcoming cooking videos.

  4. Dia
    Posted February 5th, 2008 at 5:12 am | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi, i’m so happy to have found your website as I enjoy Korean food very much. I was wondering when will you show us how to make gamja jorim (cubed potatoes with brown sweet glaze) banchan? My bro loves it and he so wants me to make some for him.

    Thank you so much for your recipes.

  5. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,047 comments
    Posted February 4th, 2008 at 11:35 pm | or create a profile.

    vickie,
    Check this video.
    He is showing korean ingredients in his video.
    When you go to a korean grocery, tell the owner you are looking for
    “go choo gaa roo”(hot pepper flakes). It’s sold in a package and my favorite brand name is “Tae Yang Cho”

  6. Vickie
    Posted February 4th, 2008 at 5:17 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi:Maangchi:
    Thank you for sharing so many wonderful recipes.
    I went to local supermarket for chilly powder. But I found there are lots of different kinds chilly powders. I am not sure which one is more close to the one you use
    Would you please give me some ideas because there is no Korean groceries store in my area. Thank you!

  7. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,047 comments
    Posted February 2nd, 2008 at 11:17 pm | or create a profile.

    Lillian,
    Korean radish is used for so many dishes. I envy you that you have garden to grow vegetables.

    Yes, I know these days are not cucumber season. I usually finish eating cucumber kimchi in a few days after making. I love fresh “Oee sobagi” : )

    Thanks,

  8. Lillian
    Posted February 2nd, 2008 at 3:46 pm | or create a profile.

    Thanks again Maangchi for posting this and letting me know! I can’t wait until cucumber season. I am eagerly planning my garden to include lots and lots of them!

    I also love radishes, but don’t know many recipes other than pickling them or eating them fresh, so the soup is a great idea. Take care,

    LM

  9. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,047 comments
    Posted February 1st, 2008 at 5:27 pm | or create a profile.

    Thanks,
    I am planning to make soon doo bu for my next video. Thanks,

  10. Anonymous
    Posted February 1st, 2008 at 3:34 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi,

    I love Soon doo bu, too! How about share your recipe with us as soon as possible:)? Such as beef stew, seafood stew…Moreover, I think maybe different retaurants serve different kinds of flavors on this stew?

    Your cooking video is probably the best one in YouTube.

    We all thank you so much:)

  11. Deborah Toronto, ON joined 4/09 & has 47 comments
    Posted January 31st, 2008 at 9:18 pm | or create a profile.

    that looks delicious!! it’s so cold these days.. i’m thinking about soon dubu (and gamjatang) again! :)

  12. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,047 comments
    Posted January 31st, 2008 at 5:42 am | or create a profile.

    hi, maureen,
    You should press slightly with your hand while stuffing it at the same time. Check the video, please.

  13. Maureen
    Posted January 30th, 2008 at 10:09 am | or create a profile.

    How do you keep everything from falling out of the cucumbers? I can never keep them properly stuffed.

  14. Maangchi New York City joined 8/08 & has 12,047 comments
    Posted January 29th, 2008 at 9:16 pm | or create a profile.

    Ok, I will keep your request for “soon doo bu” in mind.
    Thanks a lot

  15. Anonymous
    Posted January 29th, 2008 at 6:13 pm | or create a profile.

    Hi Maangchi. I love your recipes. I am a vegetarian and was wondering if you could share with us the recipe for Soon Dubu( spicy tufu soup).
    Thank you for sharing your recipe with us.

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