This Korean Cucumber Salad or Oi Muchim (오이무침) is an easy yet tasty and refreshing salad that you can enjoy as banchan (Korean side-dish) with rice and your favorite mains.
OI MUCHIM, 오이무침
Oi 오이 is Korean for cucumber while muchim 무침 can mean somewhere in the line of 'to toss or coat something in sauce/seasoning'. So Oi Muchim, 오이무침 doesn't directly translate for cucumber salad, but I hope you get the point.
This Cucumber Salad is easy and refreshing but packs a good kick of spice from the gochugaru and gochujang with that aroma from fresh garlic, scallions, and of course the sesame oil and seeds.
HOW TO ENJOY THIS CUCUMBER SALAD
I personally love these as banchan or side dish with some or enjoyed as is. These are also delicious mixed into Bibimbap or a Korean Mixed Rice Bowl.
CUCUMBERS
For this recipe, I used Japanese cucumbers. You're free to use English or Persian cucumbers, or any pickling cucumbers.
PREPARING THE CUCUMBERS
- Slice the cucumbers into 1/4 to 3/4-inch (0.6 to 1.9-cm) thick pieces. It’s totally a personal preference if you want your cucumber pieces on the thicker side. I sliced mine into 1/2-inch thick pieces since I like a good bite.
- Place the sliced cucumbers on a strainer with a catch basin. Add in the salt and mix to coat the cucumbers well. Allow the cucumbers to sit for 30 minutes or even longer to release excess liquid.
- I left mine for 1 hour in the refrigerator. The longer you leave the salted cucumbers, the more liquid it’ll draw out and will release less liquid when it sits in the dressing later on.
- If you’re enjoying this salad immediately, then you can leave it to sit for 30 minutes. But if preparing ahead, I prepare to allow the cucumbers to sit longer to really draw excess water out.
PREPARE THE SAUCE/DRESSING
For this cucumber salad, I mixed together the following:
- gochujang
- liquid sweetener or sugar
- soy sauce
- gochugaru
- garlic, minced
- sesame seeds
- sesame oil
- scallion, chopped
- rice vinegar
Feel free to adjust everything to your taste! You can find the full detailed recipe below.
MIX AND ENJOY YOUR CUCUMBER SALAD!
- Top with more sesame seeds, if desired. This is also best enjoyed cold!
- You can enjoy this as-is, as banchan (side dish) with rice, and even noodles.
- Storage tip: I simply place my cucumber salad in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Can last for 2 weeks or even longer! But it probably won't even last that long ;)
MORE VEGAN KOREAN RECIPES YOU MIGHT LOVE:
- Vegan Kimchi
- Shredded Tofu 'Bulgogi’
- Yachaejeon (Korean Vegetable Pancakes)
- Korean Beansprout Salad
- Bibim Guksu (Korean Mixed Noodles)
- Sundubu Jjigae (Korean Soft Tofu Stew)
- Kimchi Noodle Soup with Dumplings
- Kimchi Noodle Stir-Fry
- Jjajangmyeon
- Kimchi Pancakes or Kimchi Jeon
- Pajeon (Korean Scallion Pancakes)
Korean Cucumber Salad (Oi Muchim, 오이무침)
This Korean Cucumber Salad or Oi Muchim (오이무침) is an easy yet tasty and refreshing salad that you can enjoy as banchan (Korean side-dish) with rice and your favorite mains.
Ingredients
Cucumber
- 1 lb Korean, Japanese, or English cucumbers (any pickling cucumbers are great!)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
Dressing
- 1 tbsp gochujang
- 1-2 tbsp liquid sweetener or sugar
- 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp gochugaru
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 scallion chopped optional
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
For serving
- More sesame seeds for topping
Instructions
Steps
- Slice the cucumbers into 1/4 to 3/4-inch (0.6 to 1.9-cm) thick pieces. It’s totally a personal preference if you want your cucumber pieces on the thicker side. I sliced mine into 1/2-inch thick pieces since I like a good bite.
- Place the sliced cucumbers on a strainer with a catch basin. Add in the salt and mix to coat the cucumbers well. Allow the cucumbers to sit for 30 minutes or even longer to release excess liquid.I left mine for 1 hour in the refrigerator. The longer you leave the salted cucumbers, the more liquid it’ll draw out and will release less liquid when it sits in the dressing later on. If you’re enjoying this salad immediately, then you can leave it to sit for 30 minutes. But if preparing ahead, I prepare to allow the cucumbers to sit longer to really draw excess water out.
- Meanwhile, mix all the dressing ingredients together in a bowl. Feel free to adjust everything to your desired taste.
- Drain any excess water from the cucumber, transfer to a large bowl, pour in the dressing, and mix everything well.
- Top with more sesame seeds, if desired. This is best enjoyed cold. You can enjoy this as-is, as banchan (side dish) with rice, and even noodles.
- Storage tip: I simply place mine in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Can last for 2 weeks or even longer.
Notes
Salting the Cucumber
- Salting the cucumbers will help release some of its liquid but it will continue to release liquid as it sits, especially if you prepare this in advance. Don’t worry though because the flavours will be just as good!
NUTRITIONAL INFO
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 60kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 1018mg | Potassium: 205mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 386IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 1mg
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Made with 1/2 cayenne and 1/2 chili powder as a substitute for the gochugaru b/c I didn’t have any and it was delicious! Jeeca’s recipes never disappoint.
Great sub!! Thanks Jennifer ◡̈
I think I’ll be making this every week if not more from now on. It was so good and my roommate who doesn’t like spicy food still ate a bunch because she liked the flavor so much it was worth it lol.
Thab for sharing!
Oh wow definitely worth it!! Thanks so much Mandy ◡̈ appreciate you leaving a review too, it helps me out!
Going to make this for dinner, but end it in my belly for lunch. Cannot stop snacking this cucumber.
love this! a lot of other recipes are a little more water and i like how saucy this one is! tones of flavour!
Hope you enjoyed it Hunter! Thanks so much ◡̈
Childhood best friend from Korea. This recipe is legit. The gochuchang I use is a very fermented old school one. Have loved this cuisine for half a century now. My garden is putting out lots of cukes this summer. Yum!!
Would love to grow my own cukes next time to make a good salad. This is one of my favourites and so so happy you liked this. Really appreciate the review too! ◡̈ thanks so much Catharine!
I keep a good supply of Gogujang and Gogujaru and sesame oil. So had the ingredients. I did use some sliced onion. Because I have a long trip to rhe korean store. This turned out great. The only way I can get Korean food here is make it, so I love great recipes
Thanks so much Michael! Glad you liked it ◡̈