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Did you know that there are around 200 different types of kimchi's in Korean cuisine? Kimchi's are Korean side dishes, known as banchan.
The most popular and well known kimchi is made with napa cabbage. However you can also enjoy cucumber kimchi, green onion kimchi, and bok choy kimchi among others!
One kimchi that is not as well known as the ones mentioned is hobak kimchi, which is zucchini kimchi.
"Hobak" means zucchini in Korean. And hobak kimchi is one of the most delicious kimchi's that you will enjoy! If you love Korean food, you've got to try this vegetable side dish!
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Why You Will LOVE This Korean Zucchini Recipe!
You will fall head over heels for this zucchini kimchi recipe because:
- The savory taste is amazing! It's a bit salty, sweet, spicy, and sour with some great umami flavor!
- This kimchi is super easy to make. The most difficult part is slicing up the veggies and mincing the garlic, and that's not hard!
- This hobak kimchi is quick to prepare. It's ready in about 40 minutes, 30 minutes of which is salting the zucchini.
- It's ready to enjoy immediately, no fermentation is required. I do recommend allowing at least a couple of hours for the flavors to meld, but if you can't wait that long you can dig in right away!
- The dish is beautiful with the vibrant green color of the zucchini paired with the red gochugaru.
- This is a great way to use up some of the ton of zucchinis that you may have growing in your garden in the summer time!
Now let's roll up our sleeves and enjoy making this exquisite kimchi!
🥘 Ingredients
So here's what you'll need to make this Korean zucchini kimchi:
- Fresh Zucchini - you can use either the North American variety of zucchini (which I show here), or the Korean variety called aehobak. The Korean zucchini differs from the North American regular zucchini in that the flesh is more delicate and has smoother or thinner skin. You should be able to find aehobak at Korean grocery stores.
- Coarse salt - this is for salting the zucchini so that we can remove the excess water from it
- Onion
- Fresh garlic
- Green onions
- Sesame oil
- Gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
- Rice vinegar
- Mirin (can sub sugar)
- Fish sauce
You'll love how these simple ingredients combine to give you a most delicious Korean side dish!
🔪 Instructions
It couldn't be simpler to make this kimchi. Begin by cutting the ends off your zucchini. Slice zucchini in half lengthwise, and then cut widthwise into half moon shapes.
Place in a colander or large bowl and sprinkle salt over the sliced zucchini. Leave for 30 minutes. At the end of this time you can see how much excess moisture is released from the zucchini. Discard this excess water and place the zucchini in a colander and rinse with water.
Squeeze the zucchini firmly to remove as much water as you can and place in a large mixing bowl.
Add all of the remaining ingredients to the zucchini slices.
Stir well to thoroughly combine all of the ingredients. Taste and adjust any seasoning as necessary. If the taste is bitter for you, add a little sugar until you are happy with the taste.
Suggestions For Serving
Your zucchini kimchi is ready to enjoy immediately! There is no fermentation required.
However, it tastes better after spending the night in your fridge so the flavors have some time to meld together. It is much tastier the next day.
When ready to enjoy, place the kimchi in a pretty bowl or serving plate and display it proudly for your family.
This Korean side dish is wonderful simply served with rice as part of a delicious Korean meal! Enjoy it with some Korean barbecue, such as kalbi, or pan fried yellow croaker.
It's so delicious and a great option to serve alongside your favorite main dishes for a little extra spice!
I hope this will become one of your favorite Korean recipes! Mashita!
FAQ
Your zucchini kimchi will last a couple of weeks when stored in an airtight container in your refrigerator. However, it's best enjoyed within a week.
The North American variety of zucchini is different from the Korean variety called aehobak. The Korean zucchini differs from the American zucchini in that the flesh is more delicate and has thinner or smoother skin.
Store your zucchini kimchi in an airtight container in your refrigerator.
Some Other Recipes You May Enjoy!
Here are some other recipes that you may enjoy:
- Korean Zucchini Side Dish - called Hobak Namul, this recipe calls for stir-fried zucchini and is served at room temperature or chilled
- Spicy Korean Fish Cake Side Dish
- Korean Spicy Bean Sprouts
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Cheers!
Grace
Easy Zucchini Kimchi Recipe
Equipment
- large mixing bowl
- colander
Ingredients
- 2 zucchini cut lengthwise, and then across widthwise to make half moon shapes
- 1 tablespoon coarse salt this is for salting the zucchini
- ½ onion sliced thinly
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 green onion sliced thinly
- 2 ts sesame oil
- 1.5 tablespoon gochugaru Korean red pepper flakes; you can adjust the amount to suit your tolerance for spicy food
- 1 ts rice vinegar
- 2 ts mirin can sub 1 ts of sugar
- 1 ts fish sauce
Instructions
- Cut the ends off your zucchini. Slice in half lengthwise, and then cut widthwise into half moon shapes. Place in a colander or large bowl and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of coarse salt over the zucchini. Leave for 30 minutes. At the end of this time you can see how much excess moisture is released from the zucchini. Discard this excess water and place the zucchini in a colander and rinse with water. Squeeze the zucchini firmly to remove as much water as you can and place in a large mixing bowl.
- Add all of the remaining ingredients to the zucchini.
- Stir well to thoroughly combine all of the ingredients. Taste and adjust any seasoning as necessary. If the taste is bitter for you, add a little sugar until you are happy with the taste.
- Mashita! Enjoy!
June Barrera
When I first saw the picture from this recipe I thought it was made from cucumber but never knew you could make kimchi from zuchinni!
I just made this a day ago and we just loved the flavor so much that it’s almost gone! Will have to make this again! And I can’t believe how easy it was to mske!
Grace
Hi June! Thanks for trying out this recipe and I'm super happy that you liked it! I'm so glad you found it easy to make as well! So grateful for you thank you!