Oi Sobagi – Korean Stuffed Cucumber Kimchi

I used to make kimchi at home quite regularly, following a recipe from Kimchi: Essential Recipes of the Korean Kitchen by Byung-Hi Lim and Byung-Soon Lim, but somehow I hadn’t made any for several years.

I’ve recently been reading Ferment by Tim Spector, and with the allotment harvest season bringing an abundance of vegetables into the kitchen, I felt it was time to give kimchi-making another go.

I picked up Kimchi again, initially planning to make traditional cabbage kimchi. But when I turned to the next page, I spotted another recipe: Oi Sobagi, Korean stuffed cucumber kimchi. Instead of chopping the cucumbers, you make lengthwise slits and stuff them with a spicy kimchi filling. It only needed three days in the fridge, which sounded perfect for what I had in mind.

The timing couldn’t have been better. I’d just picked the last few gherkins from our allotment before pulling out the plants. There weren’t really enough for a proper batch of lacto-fermented pickles, but they were perfect for a small jar of cucumber kimchi.

I also wanted to bring a little more of the allotment into the recipe, so I replaced the sugar with some finely grated apple from our own trees.

As soon as I mixed the filling and started stuffing it into the cucumbers, I knew I was going to love it. That familiar aroma of gochugaru, garlic, ginger and vegetables immediately brought back memories of making kimchi years ago. I’d almost forgotten how much I loved those flavours and aromas!

The recipe said the kimchi would be ready after three days and could be kept in the fridge for up to two weeks. So naturally, having chosen it partly because it was so quick, I waited almost two weeks before opening the jar! I can’t quite believe I was that patient, especially after how wonderful the filling smelled.

When I finally opened it, the cucumbers still had a lovely crunch, and the filling was fresh, spicy and wonderfully garlicky. It reminded me why I’ve always preferred my homemade kimchi to the shop-bought versions.

My changes to the original recipe

I made a few adjustments based on what I had available.

First, I scaled down the recipe considerably. The original makes a large jar using ten pickling cucumbers, whereas I had just 300 g of small allotment gherkins.

I also replaced the sugar with finely grated apple from our allotment. I thought its natural sweetness would work nicely with the chilli and garlic, and it was another opportunity to use something we’d grown ourselves.

Finally, I reduced the salt quantities to suit my smaller batch. I prepared a little more filling than I needed and added some of the extra mixture around the cucumbers when packing them into the jar.

Oi Sobagi – Korean Stuffed Cucumber Kimchi

Adapted from Oi Sobagi (Whole Cucumber Kimchi), page 40 of Kimchi: Essential Recipes of the Korean Kitchen by Byung-Hi Lim and Byung-Soon Lim.

Ingredients

For the cucumbers

• 300 g fresh, non-bitter pickling cucumbers or small gherkins

• 10 g coarse rock salt (approx 3% of cucumber weight), for the initial salting

• Cold water, enough to cover

For the filling

• 50 g leek, finely chopped

• 25 g daikon (mooli), finely shredded

• 20 g gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes)

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 10 g fresh ginger, finely grated

• 1/4 apple, finely grated

• Approximately 4 g sea salt (app 1% of cucumber weight)

These are the approximate quantities of filling I used. I originally made twice as much but only needed half for the cucumbers.

Method

1. Prepare the cucumbers. Wash the gherkins and make deep lengthwise slits, leaving the ends attached so that the cucumbers hold together and can be stuffed.

2. Salt and soak. Rub the rock salt over the cucumbers, making sure some goes inside the slits. Place them in a bowl, cover with cold water and leave for approximately one hour, until slightly pliable.

3. Rinse and drain. Rinse the cucumbers thoroughly, including inside the cuts, and leave them to drain.

4. Make the filling. Finely chop the leek, shred the daikon and grate the garlic, ginger and apple.

5. Mix the seasoning. Combine everything with the gochugaru and sea salt, mixing thoroughly until the vegetables are evenly coated.

6. Stuff the cucumbers. Gently open the slits and push the filling into every little pocket, taking care not to break the cucumbers.

7. Pack into a jar. Arrange the stuffed cucumbers in a clean glass jar, adding a little extra filling around them.

8. Weigh them down. I used a clean, food-safe freezer bag filled with water as a weight to keep the cucumbers in place.

9. Refrigerate. Place the jar directly in the fridge. The original recipe suggests approximately three days for the flavours to develop, although Oi Sobagi can also be enjoyed immediately.

A few notes

Cucumbers: Small, crisp pickling cucumbers work particularly well. I’ve seen recipes online using regular cucumbers too, and I’m tempted to give them a try when pickling cucumbers are out of season. I’d choose firm cucumbers with smaller seeds to help retain the crunch.

Gochugaru: Korean chilli flakes are responsible for the characteristic red colour and much of the flavour of the filling.

Storage: Keep refrigerated and consume promptly once ready.

I’ve also shared a reel on Instagram showing the step-by-step process of making this kimchi. You can watch it here.