Oi Muchim, also known as Korean cucumber salad in the West, is a fantastic dish. It has a spicy but balanced flavour and delicious crunch. This cucumber salad surely doesn’t get boring. Also, it is super easy and quick to make! Let’s give this Korean cucumber salad recipe a go.
Ingredients for making Korean Cucumber Salad:
- Cucumber
- Korean chilli flakes
- Salt
- Soy sauce
- Sesame seeds
- Rice wine vinegar
- Cane sugar
- Sesame oil
- Optional: Spring onions
Regarding cucumbers, any cucumbers work fine for this salad, pick any variety you like to eat. For flavour, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, cane sugar and sesame oil will make a delicious sauce for the salad. I like my Oi Muchim quite spicy, and for that, we got some chilli flakes! Traditionally, you should opt for Korean gochugaru, but other kinds of chilli flakes work great as well!
Additional toppings for this salad include toasted sesame seeds and spring onions. I omitted the spring onions today, but they are otherwise a traditional ingredient for this dish. In case you want to make this recipe gluten-free, substitute the soy sauce for tamari.
Korean Cucumber Salad Recipe:
Making Oi Muchim is super simple, but the preparation matters a lot. Firstly, slice the cucumbers into slices of your desired thickness. I like to opt for thin slices, but thicker pieces of cucumber work great as well. Next, generously salt the cucumbers. This will draw out moisture, resulting in a deliciously crunchy texture!
Let the cucumber slices rest for at least 15 minutes, so the salt can work its magic and draw out any excess moisture. Press them out gently without breaking them, and give them a rinse to discard any excess salt.
Next, add the chilli flakes, spring onions, and sesame seeds to the sliced cucumbers.
To make the dressing for Oi Muchim, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and cane sugar. Mix well until the sugar dissolved before dressing the cucumber slices with the sauce.
Check for seasoning, and you are ready to enjoy this dish! I like to eat Oi Muchim nice and cold. The cold salad has such a satisfying crunch and heat from the chillis.
You can serve it as a nice side dish or even as a starter. The intense flavour really boosts my appetite. I like to add a good amount of the cucumbers to the plate and generously dress it with the flavourful sauce. You can garnish it with extra spring onions or sesame seeds.
I hope you enjoyed this Korean cucumber salad recipe as much as I did. Let me know what you think in the comments!
Some more Recipe Inspirations:
- Refreshing tabbouleh salad
- Miso glazed tofu
- Vegan mushroom congee
- Simple vegan skewers
- Japanese cold silken tofu
Oi Muchim – Korean Cucumber Salad Recipe
The famous Korean cucumber salad Oi Muchim is delicious. The dish is refreshing and packed with spice and flavour. This salad will not get boring.
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
1 cucumber
1 tbsp korean chili flakes
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp cane sugar
2 tbsp sesame oil
Instructions
Slice the cucumbers into slices of your desired thickness.
Generously salt the cucumbers. Let the cucumber slices rest for at least 15 minutes, so the salt can draw out any access moisture. Press them out gently without breaking them, and give them a rinse to discard any access salt.
Next, add the chilli flakes, spring onions, and sesame seeds to the sliced cucumbers.
Combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and cane sugar. Mix well until the sugar dissolved before dressing the cucumber slices with the sauce.
Check for seasoning and enjoy this delicious salad nice and cold.
Notes
You can garnish the salad with additional toasted sesame seeds or spring onion slices.
You can prep this salad ahead and store it in the fridge for up to three days.
Substitute the soy sauce for tamari to make the recipe gluten-free
- Prep Time: 25
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: Korean
- Diet: Vegan