These Spicy Korean Cucumber Kimchi Refrigerator Pickles are a delicious way to enjoy fresh kirby cucumbers this summer. Each summer, I look forward to our local farmer’s market. Kirby cucumbers are one of the items I pick up when I see them. Farm fresh kirby cucumbers are firm, crunchy and make amazing kimchi pickles.
I’ve been seeing lots of kirby cucumbers, fresh garlic and scallions at the farmer’s market the last couple of weeks and keep thinking of making these Spicy Korean Cucumber Kimchi Refrigerator Pickles. I haven’t canned anything in years, so the thought of sterilizing jars just doesn’t appeal to me at this point. Instead, I’m into quick and easy pickles.
I was flipping through my mom’s recipe binder and found a recipe for Korean Kimchi made with cucumbers. It was much simpler than the traditional Korean stuffed cucumber kimchi recipes I’d seen. The recipe called for MSG, so I left that out, and instead of cutting the cucumbers into half moon pieces as the recipe directed, I made pickle spears. I like the idea of grabbing a spear for a snack.
Korean kimchi is a fermented pickle – simply leaving the jars of pickles out on the countertop for a day before refrigerating them. I did invert the jars for part of the time to get the brine pickling the other half of the pickles. After one day, they had a little tang, but were much better after another day. The longer they sit, the more sour they’ll get.
Whether you have your own garden or local farmer’s markets in your area, I encourage you to enjoy all the bountiful fresh produce this summer. Give these Spicy Korean Cucumber Kimchi Refrigerator Pickles a try next time you see kirby cucumbers at the market.
Many years ago, I planted tomatoes, peppers and more; but, the chipmunks drove me crazy and I couldn’t take it anymore. They’d grab an unripe tomato and take a bite, then just leave it on the ground. So, I had a CSA share until my boys left for college, then I decided just to go to our local farmer’s market weekly. I love the variety of the farmer’s market, and it’s worked out really well.
Spicy Korean Cucumber Kimchi Refrigerator Pickles
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds kirby cucumbers
- 3 teaspoons sea salt
- 2 tablespoons Korean chili powder
- 2 tablespoons ginger minced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoons gluten-free soy sauce or fish sauce
- 3 scallions cut into 1" lengths
- 1 cup water
Instructions
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Trim ends of cucumbers; cut into spears. Place in a large bowl and toss with salt, chili powder, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and scallions. Put into glass jars and add water. Cover tightly and let sit on the kitchen counter for 24 hours. Refrigerate.
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Serve after a few days. The longer you refrigerate them, the more flavor the pickles will have.
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
Sweet and Spicy Spiralized Cucumber Tomato Arugula Salad Recipe {Daniel Plan Recipe}
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What a great spin on pickles, I am really obsessed with kimchi right now and I am definitely going to be giving these a shot in the very near future! Thanks!
I love kimchi too – these are super easy to make – hope you like them!
Oooo! I am so excited to try these! I have been wanting to make Kim chi forever. ..but just never quite get up the nerve. But I know I can make refrigerator pickles! They are my favorite way to preserve. Thanks for finding the recipe in your mom’s recipes.
Pinned. Great idea. Looks like an easy way to get the flavors of Kimchi in a pickle! Very pretty!
These are my kinda pickles!! So good! I could eat that whole jar 😉
These are great to snack on – I just finished my first jar yesterday 😉
Jeanette, these are my fave Korean banchan!!! love!!!!
I love all banchan Alice – these are definitely one of my favorites too!
My dill fridge pickles are seeming awfully dull right now – pinning this one to make with my next batch of CSA kirby pickles!
I like all kinds of pickles although I have to admit I like spicy ones best 🙂
These look delicious! We’re big pickle fans over here– and spicy pickles?! Yes please!
Nothing better than a quick and easy pickle recipe for summer! Pinning and can’t wait to try these!
Wow! I have to prepare them asap. They look amazing.
I have never pickled anything (including kimchee) but have always wanted to try! This recipes seems easy enough I might have to grab some kirby cukes at our farmer’s market.
These look so good! Spicy cucumber pickles are definitely my favourite side dish!
I love how easy refrigerator pickles are! And the fact that these are kimchi-flavored makes them a must-try for me…yum!
The pickles look great and I want to make some but is the water just plain water from the tap, cooled boiled water and do you add cold water to the jars and not boiling water?
Regards Frances from Sunny South Africa
If you have good clean tap water, you can use it; otherwise, use cooled boiled water.
i had the same question about the water. And also, I just used one large jar.. The water doesn’t cover the pickles, is that correct? Should the jars be sterilized?
If your tap water is safe to use, you can use it; otherwise, use cooled, boiled water. I did not sterilize the jars although they were cleaned thoroughly before using. These are meant to be eaten within a week or two, so no need for sterilization. The cucumbers will release some of their own juices as they sit. My water did not cover the cucumbers completely either. I did turn the jar upside down for part of the time.
Can I process the jars though, I have a lot of cucumbers! Thanks1
I have not tried processing these, but I am guessing it should work like other pickles.
Next time I will make them as spears.
Love that Kim Chee!
John – so glad you enjoyed the kimchee! Your fried rice looks amazing!
Thanks Jeanette, I found you through Freda’s Specialty Products. I am new to all this foodie madness. I enjoy looking through your recipes and indent to try some more but kimchee has been my focus for now. ????
Thanks John – you might have seen the Ghost Chile Hot Sauce then. I look forward to hearing what you’re cooking up. I love kimchi – there are so many kinds 🙂
Yes, it caught my eye. I will explore. Dear Oakley at Frieda’s is adding my recipes slowly. She already has two and I have two in the works. Lol! What did I get myself into?
That’s great! Look forward to seeing what else you make
How long do these pickles stay fresh/last in the fridge? I’ve never made them before and would like, but without an expiration date, I never know when things need to be tossed out. Thank you,
These pickles are best eaten within a week or two.
Thank you!!! I will make them tonight. I have all of the ingredients.
Can they be canned
I have not tried canning these, but I imagine they should be able to be canned similar to other pickles.
Hi Jeanette! This recipe looks amazing and can’t wait to try it! Quick question. Can these be canned? I am stocking up for winter now with my garden and would love to have these stocked as well. Thanks!
Ginger – I don’t know much about canning but I do know that these pickles seem to do best when eaten within a week or two.
I want to can these as well. One thing I noticed is there is no vinegar in the recipe, which you need for canning for the acidity. I always add 1/2 teaspoon dry citric acid powder to my quart jars, so I’m going to try doing this. I may add some vinegar and reduce the water (half and half).
Hi Kim, I’d love to hear if you try. Let me know if it works. Thank you!
Is there a chemical reason that the recipe calls for gluten free soy sauce? Does gluten some how interfere with the fermentation or is it because of a personal intolerance? Sorry if this is common knowledge – I just found your food blog thru Pinterest.
You can use regular soy sauce if you don’t have a gluten intolerance.
Great pickle recipe, I’ll have to try it. I do have a solution to the chipmunk problem – they are very destructive. Use a 5 gallon bucket 1/2 filled with water, cover the surface with sunflower seeds (for birds), put a ramp built 2 to 3 foot long strip of wood about 2inches wide, put a nail on the end of the wood plank so it will not slip off the bucket. You will quietly catch a lot of chipmunks in a day’s time and your tomatoes will thank you. A farmer friend told me of this, but it is dangerous to some pets and toddlers – so do be careful how you use it. Quite amazing that the chipmunks can be so stupid to fall for this, but it works like a charm and you don’t have to worry about poisoning or a snap trap killing your neighbor’s cat.
Thanks for the tip Mike – chipmunks are so cute but they do love my tomatoes!
I love this recipe. I love kimchi and I have yet to make it at home, so combining kimchi and pickles is absolutely genius! I want to try this the next time I go for a pickling / fermentation project. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Made them a week ago….just tasted one. Good flavor from ginger, garlic, and onions.
Not too spicy…but could use a bit more sea salt. Can I add more sea salt now to the jars?
Also, as for water I used bottled…our city water is very hard and chlorinated.
Hi Chris,
You can try dissolving some more salt in the brine and adding it back to the cucumbers.
These look very interesting! I’m kinda surprised there’s no vinegar in these. Could you add or substitute rice vinegar for at least a portion of the water?
The pickles will sour naturally during the fermentation process. I haven’t tried adding vinegar but you could if you like your pickles extra sour.
I modified your recipe slightly so i could can them.
I reduced the water to 2/3 cup and added 1/3 cup vinegar (for 3 quart jars, which is what I guess your recipe is for) and brought that to a boil for the jars.
I also used canning salt instead of the sea salt.
I used fish sauce in 3 jars and soy sauce in 2, just to compare.
Hi Kim, thanks so much for sharing your modifications – hope you enjoy these pickles
I left my kimchi out for two days instead of one…is it ok to eat. It is in the refrigerator
now… it looks good.
I think it should be fine
Looks wonderful! Could I use regular cucumbers instead? Has anyone tried?
Regular cucumbers might be too watery. If you use them, perhaps let them sit in a colander with the kimchi spices for a bit so excess liquid can be released.
Hi, I saw your recipe and thought that it looked good and very easy to make. I followed your directions and the cucumbers tasted really good before I put them in the jars. I left them on the counter for 1 day per your instructions. Today was day four in the refrigerator, excited to give them a try, the flavor was really good. However, they were completely mushy. This was my first time pickling in salt water. I have pickled in the past with vinegar to make dill pickles and they turned out fine. Any ideas on what might have gone wrong?
Thanks for your time
Hi Mark – did you use pickling/Kirby cucumbers? They will not stay crunchy, but should not be mushy.