It might seem a bit bonkers to suggest you make a cool cucumber dish in the middle of winter but this Salad Style Cucumber Kimchi is just the ticket to tickle your tastebuds – as well as being ‘an incredibly healthy food’, according to Professor Charles Clark.

Basically fermented and salted vegetables, kimchi has been a way of life in Korea for thousands of years. The simple key ingredients – cabbage, radish and cucumber with ginger, garlic and chilli – provide high levels of disease-fighting antioxidants. Not only can these powerful nutrients help protect us against heart disease, strokes and cancer but kimchi may be a factor in the very low levels of serious cases of Covid-19 in Korea. ‘Kimchi is also very good for your digestion, due to being fermented,’ adds Professor Clark.

A word about Professor Clark: I first met him in 2008 when he pioneered the low carb diet with his book The Diabetes Revolution, written with Maureen Clark, his wife. A consultant ophthalmologist, surgeon and lawyer, Charles became interested in nutrition because of the symptoms that appear in our eyes, such as high cholesterol. Since then, nutrition has become Charles and Maureen’s key interest and they have now collaborated on an e-book called 21 Authentic Kimchi Recipes, which you can download here.

We often overlook the ‘incredibly important need to keep our bodies and brains properly hydrated’, according to Professor Clark, but cucumber has has a very high water content. Which is why this simple recipe for Salad Style Cucumber Kimchi could boost your health through the winter months.

I often make a similar version, which I serve with dishes like roast cauliflower and butternut squash – completely delicious.

INGREDIENTS

2 large cucumbers

1 spring onion

Seasoning:

10g Korean red chilli pepper powder

8g fine sea salt

15g sugar (caster)

10ml Korean soy sauce

15ml rice vinegar

METHOD

1. Wash and clean the cucumbers thoroughly under cold running water.

2. Halve the cucumbers lengthways and slice into half moon shapes.

3. Slice the spring onion thinly on the diagonal.

4. Put all the seasoning ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir to mix. 

5. Add the sliced cucumber and spring onion.

6. Stir and toss so that the vegetables are completely covered.

7. Check seasoning and add salt to taste if necessary.

8. You can eat this fresh but for the taste to develop fully, store it in an airtight container and leave at room temperature for 24 hours to ferment, then pop in the fridge for a day or two.

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