This pickled cucumber salad is ultra easy to make and tastes so good! Some of its appealing qualities include the crunchy texture, the sour and tart flavors and the slight bite of heat from the gochujang chili pepper. I have reproduced it from the blog, I-eat-food (what an excellent name for a blog!) with some minor changes in ingredients and proportions.

Korean pickled cucumber salad

Korean pickled cucumber salad

10 Kirby cucumbers
Sea salt
1 tbsp Ponzu
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp Korean chili pepper powder (Gochugaru)

Slice off the top of each Kirby and rub the slice against cut part until a gooey foam forms on top. Rinse it out. Repeat process with remaining cucumbers. Why do this? Did you ever taste bitterness in cucumbers? Doing this takes the bitterness away. Steven thinks that it is merely an old-wives-tale, or perhaps, blind superstition, but my mother did it (and his does, too, come to think of it) and they can’t both be wrong.

Set mandolin blades for thin slicing. Slice all cucumbers.

Sprinkle with sea salt and let rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Rinse completely with plenty of cold water. Thoroughly drain in colander. Finally give cucumber slices a squeeze to remove more liquid.

Meanwhile mix ponzu, vinegar, soy sauce and chili pepper together. Toss cucumber slices in and viola!