Ingredients
3 cucumbers
20 gms chives (chopped small)
¼ onion (thinly sliced)
2 tbsp Korean chili powder or Gochugaru (available in Korean grocery stores) or substitute with equal quantity of Kashmiri red chilli powder
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp store-bought fish sauce
1 tbsp store-bought shrimp sauce
¼ minced ginger or ginger powder
½ minced garlic
1 tbsp cooked rice
1 cup water for soaking
½ tbsp toasted sesame seeds
3 tbsp sea salt for soaking
2 tbsp sea salt for washing
Method
First, wash the cucumbers and trim and discard both ends. Slice the cucumbers into 6 or 7cm-long pieces.
Now, cut each piece lengthwise in a cross shape (to make pockets for stuffing). Make sure you do not cut all the way through and leave at least 1 cm at the bottom (please refer to the pictures).
Transfer the cucumber pieces in a big bowl, sprinkle and rub them with sea salt inside and out.
Now, set aside for 15 to 20 minutes.
After the resting period, rinse the cucumber in cold water twice or thrice to remove any excess salt. Drain off the water.
Chop the chives about 0.5cm long.
Using a mixer, mix together all the ingredients for the sauce. Toss in the chives and the onion slices and mix well.
Gently squeeze the cucumber pieces to release any residual excess moisture and gently stuff the sauce mixture into the cucumber pockets.
Sprinkle sesame seeds and serve as a side dish.
