[Magdalen] SPICY KOREAN CUCUMBER KIMCHI REFRIGERATOR PICKLES

[Jay Weigel]

Okay, everyone, here you are. There are some substitutions that can be made
here. If you're not gluten-free, don't worry about the soy sauce. Or you
can, of course, use fish sauce instead. If you don't have Korean chili
powder, sweat it not. I used crushed red pepper flakes for my first batch,
plus a little tiny bit of chipotle chili powder for the characteristic
smoky taste of Korean chili powder, but no big deal. I also used about half
the amount called for and they were hardly spicy at all. The fermentation
seems to do something to the heat. I'm using more this time.....and I have
the real stuff now. Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

   - 1½ pounds kirby cucumbers
   - 2¼ teaspoon sea salt
   - 2 tablespoons Korean chili powder
   - 2 tablespoons ginger, minced
   - 6 garlic cloves, minced
   - 2 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce or fish sauce
   - 3 scallions, cut into 1" lengths
   - 1 cup water


DIRECTIONS

   1. Trim ends of cucumbers; cut into spears. Place in a large bowl and
   toss with salt, chili powder, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and scallions. Put
   into glass jars and add water. Cover tightly and let sit on the kitchen
   counter for 24 hours. Refrigerate.
   2. Serve after a few days. The longer you refrigerate them, the more
   flavor the pickles will have.


Once again, you can use crushed red pepper in place of the Korean chili
powder, and judge for yourself how much heat you can stand. I don't think
it really matters what kind of cucumbers you use. I'm using mini English
ones, but if I couldn't find them I'd use pickling cucumbers or whatever I
could find.