Spicy Cucumber Banchan

Name: Spicy Cucumber Banchan
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1.5 pounds Persian or Kirby or English/Hothouse Cucumbers, sliced into 1/8-inch thick slices; 1 Tablespoon kosher salt; 2 small cloves garlic, very finely minced or grated; 1.5 green onions, finely chopped, including the whites; 1.5 Tablespoons sugar; 3.5 Tablespoons distilled white vinegar; 1.5 Tbsp gochugaru(Korean dried chili flakes) or 2.5 tsp of crushed red chili flakes (like the kind you get with your pizza)

x @cook_5886383

Banchan (aka panchan and pronounced BAHNchahn) is a generic Korean word for "side dish," and Korean cuisine has LOTS of it - a dizzying array made from all kinds of ingredients and with all kinds of techniques. A proper Korean meal usually features at least 4 or 5 different kinds, but for efficiency's sake, I like to choose one or two that I think really complement the main dish I'm serving.

This Spicy Cucumber Banchan has converted many a cuke hater because it hits so many notes - spicy, salty, sweet, tangy and crunchy.

This recipe serves 4 to 6 as a side and is easily doubled.

This Spicy Cucumber Banchan has converted many a cuke hater because it hits so many notes - spicy, salty, sweet, tangy and crunchy.

This recipe serves 4 to 6 as a side and is easily doubled.

x @cook_5886383

This Spicy Cucumber Banchan has converted many a cuke hater because it hits so many notes - spicy, salty, sweet, tangy and crunchy.

This recipe serves 4 to 6 as a side and is easily doubled.

This Spicy Cucumber Banchan has converted many a cuke hater because it hits so many notes - spicy, salty, sweet, tangy and crunchy.

This recipe serves 4 to 6 as a side and is easily doubled.

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Ingredients

4 to 6 servings

1.5 poundsPersian or Kirby or English/Hothouse Cucumbers, sliced into 1/8-inch thick slices
1 Tablespoonkosher salt
2small cloves garlic, very finely minced or grated
1.5green onions, finely chopped, including the whites
1.5 Tablespoonssugar
3.5 Tablespoonsdistilled white vinegar
1.5 Tbspgochugaru(Korean dried chili flakes) or 2.5 tsp of crushed red chili flakes (like the kind you get with your pizza)

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Steps

1

In a large mixing bowl, toss the cucumbers with the salt and let them sit for 20 to 25 minutes while they extrude excess liquid, re-tossing once halfway just to make sure the salt does its job on all the pieces. This process helps the cucumbers retain a pickled crunch.
2

Squeeze the cucumber in fistfuls to get rid of the excess liquid (discard the liquid).
3

Toss the cucumbers with the rest of the ingredients.
4

Enjoy!