Oi Sobagi (stuffed cucumber kimchi) is a popular side dish in Korean cuisine, and this is how I like it: I see Oi Sobagi or oi kimchi as sort of a semi-kimchi. I don’t like them fermented, and the cucumbers should be crunchy, and fully marinated, but not raw.

What you’ll need:

For the stuffing:

• 2 small carrots, peeled & julienned
• 1/4 cup Korean radish, julienned
• 1/2 Asian pear, julienned
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 small handful scallions, chopped
• 2 tbsp of fermented/salted shrimp,
• 1 tbspn fish sauce
• 3/4 cup gochugaru,
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 flavor makers: dried, shredded pork floss and black pepper
• 6-7 cucumbers (the small pickling variety), topped & tailed, halved

For the cucumbers:

• A handful of cucumbers (the small pickling variety), topped & tailed, cut in half

Let’s Oh Na Mi this! 💥

Prepare your stuffing:

1. Prepare your stuffing: Add the carrot, radish, pear, onion and scallions to a mixing bowl. Add the shrimp, fish sauce, gochugaru, honey and garlic and mix well. Season with black pepper and pork floss. Let sit while you prepare your cucumber (or until the carrots and radish are floppy.)
2. Prepare your cucumbers: Blanch them in salted water (a bit more salt than pasta water) for 1.5-2 minutes. Immediately place them in cold water to stop the cooking process.Once cool, slice a cross in the cucumber, leaving the bottom 1/3 intact.
3. Assemble: Place a small layer of the stuffing mixture on the bottom of a clean jar.
   Stuff each cucumber with a generous amount and squeeze closed. Finish with a layer of stuffing covering the cucumbers.
   I like to age this for a few hours at room temperature and about 2 days in the refrigerator.

Unlike cabbage kimchi, Oi is best unfermented. As long as you keep it cold, it will age gracefully in the fridge over the next several days. I like to eat Oi Sobagi as a side dish at most, with a bit of rice and sesame oil.

The unforgettable crunch and flavor punch are great on their own.