Korean-Style Cucumber and Carrot Salad for Winter

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   This recipe even works with slightly wilted, overripe cucumbers and small carrots. This Korean-style cucumber-and-carrot salad for winter is easy to make. You can use a store-bought Korean-carrot seasoning or mix the spices yourself (paprika, hot red pepper, coriander). You'll also need vinegar, vegetable oil, salt, and sugar.

2. Step 2:

   

   Soak the cucumbers in cold water for a couple of hours — this draws out any bitterness and makes them crisper.

3. Step 3:

   

   Grate the carrots on a Korean-carrot grater, put them in a bowl, salt them lightly, and squeeze them a little by hand so they soften. If you don't have the special grater, cut the carrots into thin strips with a knife. Use some of the salt from the total amount in the recipe.

4. Step 4:

   

   Trim both ends off the cucumbers and cut them into thick sticks. You can use a crinkle cutter (the kind used for slicing cheese). If your cucumbers have big seeds or thick skin, it's better to remove them.

5. Step 5:

   

   Put the cucumbers and carrots in a deep bowl, ideally a pot, so you can mix them well.

6. Step 6:

   

   Peel the garlic and press the cloves. Add the rest of the salt to the garlic, then the sugar and spices. You can buy these spices — paprika, hot red pepper, coriander — mix them and use what you need, or buy a Korean-carrot seasoning at the store. If you use a ready-made seasoning, you'll need 20 grams.

7. Step 7:

   

   Add the vinegar and vegetable oil to the spices and garlic and stir everything well with a spoon, trying to dissolve the salt and sugar. They probably won't dissolve completely.

8. Step 8:

   

   Pour the spiced oil and vinegar over the vegetables. Mix everything well and leave it for 1.5–2 hours so the vegetables release their juice. After 1.5 hours they'll give off plenty, but overnight is even better.

9. Step 9:

   

   Meanwhile, get your jars and lids ready. Wash them with baking soda (no detergent) and sterilize them over steam, in the oven, or on a kettle, whichever is easiest. Wash the lids and boil them in water for 5–10 minutes.

10. Step 10:

    

    Pack the salad into sterilized jars. The salad looks prettiest in small jars. Arrange cucumber pieces neatly against the sides, pile the rest of the salad in the center however it falls, and top with carrot.

11. Step 11:

    

    Pour the released juice over the top, right to the brim. This amount makes a little over 2 quarts of the salad.

12. Step 12:

    

    Set the jars in a large pot, cover with the lids, fill with water up to the jars' shoulders, and boil: 10 minutes for pint jars (0.5 L), 15 minutes for 0.7-L jars, and 25 minutes for quart jars (1 L). Seal the lids, wrap the jars in a towel, and leave them until completely cool. Store in a cool place.