Korean Cucumber Salad (오이무침) – Cucumbers with Gochugaru

Oi muchim is a spicy Korean cucumber salad. Oi means cucumber, and muchim means dressed by hand. You toss cucumber slices with gochugaru, garlic, scallion, rice vinegar, sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds. In Korea it sits on the table as banchan next to rice, soup and grilled meat.

By Laura Chen · November 4, 2026

20 Mintotal

4servings

60kcal

KoreanCuisine ›

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Salt the cucumber slices 15 minutes before dressing and squeeze them out afterward. That way they lose water, and the dressing does not thin out in the bowl. Eat the salad the same day, because after a few hours the slices turn soft. Gochugaru is coarsely ground red chili and milder than its color suggests.

Asian cucumber salad comes in many versions. Smashed Chinese-style with black vinegar you make liang ban huang gua, and the mild, sweet-sour Japanese one is sunomono. Stuffed and fermented, the cucumber becomes oi kimchi.

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Korean Cucumber Salad (오이무침) – Cucumbers with Gochugaru

Name: Korean Cucumber Salad (오이무침) – Cucumbers with Gochugaru
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients: 2 salad cucumbers (about 700 g); 1 tsp salt; 1/2 onion, in thin strips; 2 scallions, in fine rings; 1 garlic clove, finely grated; 1 1/2 tbsp gochugaru (Korean chili powder); 1 tbsp rice vinegar; 1 tsp sugar; 1 tsp light soy sauce; 1 tsp toasted sesame oil; 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Laura Chen

Servings

Prep time

20 minutes

Cook time

0 minutes

Calories

Cuisine

Korean

Ingredients

For the cucumbers:

2 salad cucumbers (about 700 g)
1 tsp salt

For the dressing:

1/2 onion, in thin strips
2 scallions, in fine rings
1 garlic clove, finely grated
1 1/2 tbsp gochugaru (Korean chili powder)
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

Halve the cucumbers lengthwise and slice them on the diagonal into 5 mm slices. Scrape out large seeds beforehand with a teaspoon.
Toss the slices in a bowl with the salt and let them stand for 15 minutes.
Pour off the water that has collected. Squeeze out the cucumbers by hand without crushing them.
Stir together the gochugaru, garlic, rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and sesame oil in the bowl.
Add the cucumbers, onion and scallions and toss with your hands or two spoons until every slice is coated in red.
Taste and adjust with vinegar or sugar. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve the salad right away.

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Korean Cucumber Salad (오이무침) – Cucumbers with Gochugaru

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Instructions

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Korean Cucumber Salad (오이무침) – Cucumbers with Gochugaru

Ingredients

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For the dressing:

Instructions

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