Oi muchim — seasoned cucumber — is one of the quickest side dishes in the Korean kitchen. Most versions lean on gochugaru and garlic, but this one goes in a gentler direction: soft tofu and fresh apple blended into a creamy, faintly sweet dressing that coats the cucumber without any heat at all.
Because there is no chili and no fish sauce, it is the kind of banchan Korean families put out for children, for older relatives, or alongside a meal that already has something spicy on the table. It also happens to be low in sodium, which is why you find it in government nutrition guides.
The whole thing takes about ten minutes and needs no cooking. Make it right before you eat — the cucumber is best while it still snaps.
Ingredients
- 70g cucumber (about 1/3 of a cucumber)
- 10g chopped peanuts (1 tablespoon)
- 40g soft tofu, sundubu (about 1/8 package, roughly 3 tablespoons)
- 50g apple (about 1/3 of an apple)
Instructions
- Put the apple and soft tofu in a blender and blend until completely smooth to make the sauce.
- Rub the cucumber with salt and wash it, cut it in half lengthwise, remove the seeds, and slice it on the diagonal.
- Add the soft tofu and apple sauce to the sliced cucumber, toss to coat, and finish by sprinkling the chopped peanuts on top.
Tips & Variations
Finding the tofu. Sundubu is the extra-soft, custardy tofu sold in plastic tubes at Korean and most Asian markets. If you cannot find it, silken tofu from a shelf-stable box works just as well here — you are blending it anyway. Avoid firm or extra-firm tofu; it will make the sauce grainy.
Choosing the cucumber. Korean cucumbers (oi) are slim with thin skin. Persian or English cucumbers are the closest easy substitutes. If you only have a thick-skinned American slicing cucumber, peel it in stripes first.
- Don’t skip the salt rub. Rubbing the cucumber with salt before washing cleans the bumpy skin and takes off any waxy or bitter surface. It is a rinse, not a salting — you wash it right off.
- Pick a sweet, crisp apple such as Fuji, Gala, or Honeycrisp. A tart Granny Smith will make the dressing sharp.
- Blend just before serving. Apple browns and tofu weeps liquid, so the sauce is best used within an hour of making it.
- Peanut swap: chopped walnuts, almonds, or toasted sesame seeds all work if you are avoiding peanuts.
The most common mistake is dressing the cucumber too far ahead. Salt-free as it is, the cucumber still releases water and the sauce goes thin. Toss it at the last minute.
Nutrition
- Calories: 75 kcal
- Carbohydrates: 10 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Fat: 2 g
- Sodium: 22 mg