Cucumber Banchan

           
The MR and Munchkin are both big fans of cucumbers.  I can cut up raw cucumbers and Munchkin will carry it around the house just chomping away.  This love of cucumbers has forced me to build up an arsenal of cucumber recipes in the last, now almost six, years of marriage. 

I have cucumber banchan 1, cucumber banchan 2, cucumber banchan 3, cucumber banchan 4, cucumber banchan 5…well you get the picture.  I’m currently on a pickling binge because we will be having a dinner party in a couple of weeks and the menu I’m planning is Kogi Tacos…so of course I want several homemade cucumber dishes to accompany the tacos (yes, I will post a recipe of the tacos).

Anyhow, I started this last night and it was completed this morning.  This is a light, fresh, and extremely simple recipe perfect for the upcoming warmer months.  I hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients Needed:

• 5 pickling cucumbers
• 1.5 TSP sesame oil, 1 TSP honey powder, 1 TSP vinegar, 1 TSP minced garlic, 1.5 TSP sesame seeds

In a small bowl, throw in the cucumbers and wash them thoroughly.  I like to rub salt on them first.

Once you’ve given them a nice bath, grab a knife…

Or in my case, my trusty mandolin…

…and start slicing away.  I can adjust the thickness of the slices using that screw.  All five cucumbers were sliced up in less than five minutes.


 
See how pretty and even they are?  I <3 my mandolin!

Then throw in about 2 TB of salt and mix it up!  I just use regular old Kosher salt whenever I’m salting banchans.

Let it sit for about half an hour.

 

Then add just enough water to cover the cucumbers…

 

 
…and just let it sit overnight.

 
The next morning, it’s time to give your cucumbers a bath again.

 

Make sure you really wash them well to get the salt water taste out.

 

Once it’s all washed and cleaned…

 

Go and grab a cheesecloth.  I always wash, dry and store my cheesecloth in a Ziploc bag.

 

Take a handful at a time and squeeze out all the liquid.

 

Once all the liquid is taken out, you’re now finally ready to season it.  It seems like a lot of work, but really…it’s not!

 

Season it with the following: 1.5 TSP sesame oil, 1 TSP honey powder, 1 TSP vinegar, 1 TSP minced garlic, 1.5 TSP sesame seeds

note:  I use TEASPOONS in this recipe.  Most of my other recipes are TABLEspoons, but this is one of the few where I use TEAspoons.  =)

 

This is my other *must have* in the kitchen!

 

Thoroughly mix around all the ingredients and let it chill in the refrigerator. It can be kept inside the fridge for about a week.

 

When it’s nice and chilled, ENJOY!  The MR and Munchkin can finish this within days.

  

 
It’s a perfect banchan for the summer!  Hope you enjoy it~  If you have any leftovers, just throw it into some bibimbap.  =)

 

And for those of you who are curious.  I don’t use measuring utensils, so it’s tricky when trying to write up posts for this blog.  I sit in the kitchen and literally write *exactly* what I’m using step-by-step so I can remember it later.  Otherwise, you’d have me saying, “Use a little bit of this, and a little bit of that!”  ;)  And yes, I do realize that God skipped me when he gifted Asian women with perfect penmanship.  =P

 

P.S.  I’m also currently salting some cucumbers.  You should go and try that recipe as well if you like cucumbers!  This has been in my fridge for over a week now and it’s just starting to look like it’s ready.  I’ll give it a few more days.

 

P.P.S  My husband installed another bulb in the kitchen so it’s taking me some practice to get used to the extra light.  That’s why all these pictures are different tones.  Oops.