Home » Korean Side Dishes (Banchan) » Korean Cucumber Salad (Oi Muchim)

Korean Cucumber Salad (Oi Muchim)

spicy Korean cucumber salad (Oi Muchim) recipe. It’s a perfect side dish for spring and summer weather. It gives you a little zing in your tastebuds!

Korean Cucumber Salad | MyKoreanKitchen.com

Korean cucumber salad (Oi Muchim, 오이무침) is my spring & summer time favourite dish. The smell of cucumber is always light and refreshing and its spicy, slightly sweet and tangy flavour gives you a little zing in your tastebuds, so it helps return your lost appetite, particularly in  hot summer weather. Intrigued?

As the cucumber naturally contains a lot of moisture, it is recommended that you only make this just before you serve your meal (no earlier than 15 mins) otherwise it doesn’t taste as nice (it can get a bit too mushy). – This is how I learnt during my home economics class.

However, my favourite way of eating this salad goes slightly beyond this time limit. I will share my secret way of enjoying it in the recipe section, so be sure to check it out.

I hope you enjoy my recipe. It’s very easy and quick to make and  it is such a great companion dish to your Korean BBQ or really any other Korean main dish. 😉

P.S If you like this recipe, you might like to try these cucumber recipes! Cucumber Kimchi and Korean Cucumber Side Dish

Ingredients for Korean Cucumber Salad (Serves 4)

(Preparation: 16 mins, Cooking: 2 mins)

*1 Tbsp = 15 ml

**If you want to learn more about Korean ingredients, check my 30 essential Korean cooking ingredients list!

How to Make Korean Cucumber Salad

1. Rinse the cucumber thoroughly in cold running water. Discard both ends of the cucumber. Thinly (about 0.5 cm (0.2 inches) thickness) slice the cucumber and put them into a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and lightly mix them together. Leave it for 15 mins.

Korean Spicy Cucumber Salad | MyKoreanKitchen.com

2. While waiting, thinly slice the onion. Prepare the seasoning sauce by mixing them all together.

Korean Spicy Cucumber Salad | MyKoreanKitchen.com

3. 15 mins later, rinse the cucumber in cold running water (any remaining salt in the mixing bowl should be discarded) and drain the water out using a strainer. Pat dry the cucumber thoroughly with kitchen paper. Put them into a clean and dry mixing bowl.

Korean Spicy Cucumber Salad | MyKoreanKitchen.com

4. Add the sliced onion and the seasoning sauce. Mix them lightly but thoroughly with your hand (You will want to wear a food prep glove).

Korean Spicy Cucumber Salad | MyKoreanKitchen.com

5. Put the seasoned cucumber into a sealed glass container and keep it in the fridge for 30 mins to chill then serve. Enjoy!

"Korean Spicy Cucumber Salad" - A perfect side dish for spring and summer weather. It gives you a little zing in your tastebuds and it tastes refreshing | MyKoreanKitchen.comNotes:

  • It can be served at a room temperature, but I think it tastes better when it’s slightly chilled.
  • It should be consumed on the day you make this. Otherwise, there will be too much water in the salad.
  • This salad is spicier than average Kimchi, in my opinion. Particularly, you will taste the spice kick in just after making it. However, while it’s chilling in the fridge for 30 mins, the cucumber will start to release the water and it will dilute the spiciness slightly. Personally, I really like this state of the cucumber. It’s chilled just right, still crunchy and also seasoned just right. But of course, if you can’t handle this level of spiciness, you might want to reduce the chilli powder and season it with fine sea salt.


Korean Cucumber Salad | MyKoreanKitchen.com

Korean Cucumber Salad

How to make spicy Korean cucumber salad (Oi Muchim). A perfect side dish for spring and summer weather.
4.86 from 7 votes
Print Pin Rate Save
Course: Side dishes
Cuisine: Korean
Prep Time: 16 minutes
Cook Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 18 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 25kcal
Author: Sue | My Korean Kitchen

Ingredients

  • 1 cucumber (145 g / 5.1 ounces) - I used Lebanese cucumber. Korean cucumber or other cucumbers that are suitable for pickling or salad can be used.
  • 1/4 onion (25 g / 0.9 ounces)
  • 1 Tbsp rock salt or Korean coarse sea salt

Seasoning Sauce (Mix these in a small bowl)

  • 1 Tbsp Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
  • 1 tsp white vinegar (or rice vinegar)
  • 1 tsp white sugar
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

  • Rinse the cucumber thoroughly in cold running water. Discard both ends of the cucumber. Thinly (about 0.5 cm (0.2 inches) thickness) slice the cucumber and put them into a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and lightly mix them together. Leave it for 15 mins.
  • While waiting, thinly slice the onion. Prepare the seasoning sauce by mixing them all together.
  • Fifteen mins later, rinse the cucumber in cold running water (any remaining salt in the mixing bowl should be discarded) and drain the water out using a strainer. Pat dry the cucumber thoroughly with kitchen paper. Put them into a clean and dry mixing bowl.
  • Add the sliced onion and the seasoning sauce. Mix them lightly but thoroughly with your hand (You will want to wear a food prep glove).
  • Put the seasoned cucumber into a sealed glass container and keep it in the fridge for 30 mins to chill then serve. Enjoy!

Notes

*1 Tbsp = 15 ml

Nutrition Info (per serving)

Calories: 25kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Sodium: 1778mg | Potassium: 151mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 645IU | Vitamin C: 3.1mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 0.6mg

The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Tried this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Rate this recipe with a comment below and tag me on Instagram @MyKoreanKitchen.

Written by: Sue

Last Updated:

Welcome to my Korean kitchen! I’m so happy that you're here. I am Sue, the creator behind My Korean Kitchen (since 2006). I love good food and simplifying recipes. Here you will find my best and family approved recipes. Thanks for stopping by!

NEVER MISS A NEW RECIPE

Join 20,000+ other Korean food lovers! Get the latest recipes from My Korean Kitchen delivered to your email inbox. It's free!

I will only send you emails related to My Korean Kitchen. Unsubscribe at any time.

Copyright: Unless otherwise noted, all photography and content on this site is the intellectual property of Sue Pressey of My Korean Kitchen. Please do not copy and/or paste full recipes and images to any social media channels or websites without my prior written consent. This is strictly prohibited. You may however, use a single image and a summary of my article in your own words, provided that proper attribution is given to myself and an appropriate link back to my original recipe. Thank you.

Disclosure: My Korean Kitchen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Subscribe
Notify of
Rate This Recipe With Your Comment




21 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Jadzia
March 2, 2024 9:17 am

Excellent. As good maybe even better than the ones I’ve had at fine Korean restaurants in the U.S.

Dani
May 5, 2022 5:47 am

The taste is great! Just a bit too salty for me. 😅

Sue Turnbull
October 29, 2021 3:53 pm

Do Korean red pepper flakes have the same heat as normal chilli flakes? Im in New Zealand and Korea stuff is hard to get out of Auckland

Joanna
May 26, 2021 5:22 pm

Made this today to eat with kimbaps and omo!! It taste soooooo good with kimbaps! Thank you for sharing this recipe! Everyone in my family loved it 😍

Romel Teodoro
March 4, 2021 2:50 pm

I like it coz it’s so simple to create and so yummy with our Thai red pork BBQ recipe… Even when I had to peel the cucumbers as I left them for too long on the vine in my vine… Thanks Sue.

Emily
February 25, 2021 5:48 pm

First recipe that I have made that I didn’t need to make any tweaks! I ate it all myself and it was so delicious. Exactly the flavor I was looking for. I only paid $2 for cucumbers bc it was the middle of winter and the rest I had in my house!! I will be making this instead of my regular summer salad for now on.

R.S.
July 28, 2020 7:40 am

This recipe is great! My sister and I were craving spicy pickles, and it hit the spot! Next time I’ll try it with some pickle crisp added to keep it from getting soft.

Rick Savacool
April 16, 2018 3:07 am

I started cooking for my Korean wife when she was diagnosed with cancer in November 2015. She is currently recovering and I still cook for her. It took me a year and a half to realized that all I was cooking was American food. Since that time, I have been buying instant foods from the Korean Grocery Stores and prepared from their deli. Recently, I have been looking for recipes and yours have been a true blessing. Today, I made the OI Muchim and not only was my wife surprised saying it was good but she ate half of it to proving it. I am sorry I didn’t take a picture, but I will in the future.

sin
October 19, 2017 6:37 pm

Hi, Sue..
thanks for the recipe, I wonder if I could change cucumber with jicama? what do you think?

Newgrl
April 16, 2018 4:56 am
Reply to  Sue

Jicama is more like a radish than a potato. It’s like a mild, somewhat fibrous daikon radish.

Sharm
August 31, 2017 5:18 pm

Hi Sue,

Just wondering, can I use the Gochujang as seasoning sauce for the cucumbers? And can I use it pure or should I dilute it with something else?

Thank you!

Thomas
July 30, 2015 12:20 pm

I’m definitely going to try this for my next family party. One suggestion that came to mind when you mentioned the “too much water” part…. I have a cucumber salad recipe that I make multiple times every summer that I got from my grandfather and, while the ingredients are a little different, the prep is much the same. Having said that, his salad keeps for 2 weeks without the water issue. The reason for that is that, as with your recipe, salt extracts some of the water but, in the case of his recipe, as one slices the cuc’s, they are put in single slice layers with salt on top of each layer in a Pyrex dish. Once all of them are sliced, they are weighted down (I usually use a slightly smaller Pyrex and put jugs of water in it to provide substantial weight). After a half an hour or so, I drain the water and then squeeze handfuls of the cucumbers to extract as much water as possible. After doing that, I rinse them to get rid of the extra salt. Surprisingly, it keeps the crunch factor that you want as long as you don’t go too thin on the original slicing. I usually use a thick-ish slice on a mandolin and the cucumbers, at that point, absorb more of the marinade and the flavor develops overnight. I’m not sure that it will work for your recipe but I’m certainly going to try it. The ingredients and methodology is similar enough that I would bet that it would work nicely to allow for a little more shelf time for the end result.

Apologies for the long response. Thank you for the recipe. I will absolutely be trying it within the week.

April 9, 2015 2:59 am

This is one of my go to Korean side dish when I don’t have much time to cook anything. Crunch goodness!

jenna
April 5, 2015 5:50 am

howdy – thanks for posting this recipe: I love cukes during hot weather & the bold seasoning will definitely help with appetites.
I have a question: The instructions say to slice .5 mm, which is pretty much wafer-thin. But the photos show “regular” slices. Does this mean the size/texture is up to the cook? or, perhaps the instructions are in cm, not mm?
Thanks again for this column; so helpful. Jenna

NEVER MISS A NEW RECIPE

Join 20,000+ other Korean food lovers!

Get the latest recipes from My Korean Kitchen delivered to your email inbox. It's free!

Connect

NEVER MISS A NEW RECIPE

Join 20,000+ other Korean food lovers! Get the latest recipes from

My Korean Kitchen delivered to your email inbox. It's free!